Industry Overview
The Canadian petroleum industry is easily divided into three main areas: upstream, midstream and downstream.
The upstream petroleum industry includes all the activity that happens in the field, such as exploration (including seismic and geophysical services), production, service, supply and manufacturing, and oil sands mining and extraction.
The midstream industry provides the vital link between the petroleum producing areas in the field and the population centres where most consumers are located. The midstream industry gathers, stores and transports commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and sulphur.
The downstream industry is where the petroleum meets you - the consumer. You can see the downstream industry in every province and territory - wherever consumers are located. This part of the industry provides the thousands of products we use in our everyday lives, such as gasoline, motor oil, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, antifreeze, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, natural gas and propane - even make-up, bubble gum and polar fleece! The downstream industry includes oil refineries, gas processing plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum products distributors, gas stations and natural gas distribution companies.
This website focuses on careers in the upstream and midstream sectors of the petroleum industry.
For more information on Canada's oil and gas industry, visit the Canadian Centre for Energy Information. The Centre for Energy provides comprehensive and unbiased information, delivered online and in print, on the full spectrum of energy including natural gas and crude oil. The Centre for Energy is all about energy, all in one place.Centre for Energy's Oil and Gas site
