ST3

The ST3 gas report will be revised for 2026. The enhancements address several data and methodological gaps identified in the natural gas reports. The changes are outlined below:

• The methodology page accompanying the natural gas report will be updated to reflect these improvements.
• Updates to Processed Gas Imports and Total Removals from Alberta have been made.
  • Processed gas imports and removal data now use Petrinex data and Canada Energy Regulator Alliance Pipeline data to capture volumes not reported in Petrinex.
  • The methodology for calculating total gas removal data now relies on Petrinex data instead of gas permitting data, to improve accuracy and reliability.
• The following minor updates have been made:
  • Industrial Demand: Missing volumes from imbalanced meter stations (receipts without dispositions) have been identified and included in the Industrial category as part of Alberta Use.
  • CO₂ Volumes: Volumes associated with carbon capture, utilization, and storage have been removed from both the Receipts and Injection categories.
  • Oil Sands Facilities Receipts:
    • The Further Processing component of Oil Sands Facilities Receipts has been reclassified under Oil Sands Facilities Use.
    • The remaining Oil Sands Facilities Receipts have been removed from Receipts, as these volumes were already accounted for under Production.
• Historical Data
  • Data from 2017–2025 will remain unchanged in the published ST3 reports on the AER website.
  • A separate file applying the new methodology to historical data (2017–2025) was created on January 30, 2026. The updated historical data  are available for comparison of the methodologies.

Product Definitions, Standards of Measurements, Notes

This section includes product definitions for the products in the statistical tables, Registry Product Groupings, standards of measurement and definitions of activities that are included in the tables.

Additional definitions can be found in Manual 011: How to Submit Volumetric Data to the AER.

Butanes - means, in addition to its normal scientific meaning, a mixture mainly of butanes that ordinarily may contain some propane or pentanes plus.

Condensate - means a mixture mainly of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbon that may be contaminated with sulphur compounds, that is recovered or is recoverable at a gas well from an underground reservoir and that may be gaseous in its virgin reservoir state but is liquid at the conditions under which its volume is measured.

Crude Bitumen - means a naturally occurring viscous mixture, mainly of hydrocarbon heavier than pentane, that may contain sulphur compounds and that, in its naturally occurring viscous state, will not flow to a well.

Crude Oil - means a mixture mainly of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons that may be contaminated with sulphur compounds, that is recovered or is recoverable at a well from an underground reservoir, and that is liquid under the conditions in which its volume is measured or estimated. It includes all other hydrocarbon mixtures so recovered or recoverable, except raw gas, condensate, or crude bitumen. 
For production measurement and reporting purposes, crude oil is deemed to be:

• "light" if it has a density of less than 850 kg/m³
• "medium” if it has a density equal to or greater than 850 kg/m³ and less than 900 kg/m³
• "heavy" if it has a density equal to or greater than 900 kg/m³ and less than 925 kg/m³
• "ultra-heavy" if it has a density of equal to or greater than 925 kg/m³ and is produced outside designated oil sands areas .

Ethane - means, in addition to its normal scientific meaning, a mixture mainly of ethane that ordinarily may contain some methane or propane.

Gas - means raw gas or marketable gas or any constituent of raw gas, condensate, crude bitumen or crude oil that is recovered in processing and that is gaseous at the conditions under which its volume is measured or estimated.

Line Fill – the volume of product (oil, gas, or liquids) used at the beginning and decommissioning of a facility that is required to fill a pipeline or system to ensure efficient operation and flow.

Load Fluid – the volume of product injected into a well for the purpose of completing or servicing the well.

Marketable Gas - means a mixture mainly of methane originating from raw gas, if necessary through the processing of the raw gas for the removal or partial removal of some constituents, and that meets specifications for use as a domestic, commercial or industrial fuel or as an industrial raw material.

Natural Gas Liquids - means ethane, propane, butanes, or pentanes plus, or a combination of them, obtained from the processing of raw gas or condensate.

Oil - means condensate or crude oil, or a constituent of raw gas, condensate or crude oil that is recovered in processing, that is liquid at the conditions under which its volume is measured or estimated.

Oil Sands Production – crude bitumen production in designated oil sands areas, now separated into upgraded and nonupgraded.

Pentanes Plus - means a mixture mainly of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons that ordinarily may contain some butanes and which is obtained from processing of raw gas, condensate or crude oil.

Propane - means, in addition to its normal scientific meaning, a mixture mainly of propane that ordinarily may contain some ethane or butanes.

Raw Gas - means a mixture containing methane, other paraffinic hydrocarbons, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, helium and minor impurities, or some of them, that is recovered or is recoverable at a well from an underground reservoir and that is gaseous a the conditions under which its volume is measured or estimated.

Sent for Further Processing – oil sands production sent to an oil sands processing plant (which includes a central processing facility and possibly an upgrader) to extract crude bitumen or derivatives of crude bitumen from oil sands.

Shrinkage - the decrease in the volume of hydrocarbons as they are produced from a pool to the surface after flash gas liberation consistent, with the surface separation process (due to pressure and temperature changes). 

Skim Oil - refers to produced oil that is carried over with produced water and accumulates in water storage tanks at an injection facility. This is oil recovered from a water disposal injection facility (subtype 503). This oil is usually skimmed off the tank, treated, and then sold.

Sulphur - is an element produced as a by-product from the sour gas processing, oil sands upgrading, and refinery operations. It can be extracted and/or stored in a prill, slate, block, or molten form.

Synthetic Crude Oil - means a mixture, mainly of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons, that may contain sulphur compounds, that is derived from crude bitumen and that is liquid at the conditions under which its volume is measured or estimated, and includes all other hydrocarbon mixtures so derived.

Product Grouping describes the combination of specific component products that comprise larger groupings, such as oil, gas, etc. The balancing of facilities is performed at the product grouping level, where the totals of the individual component products are grouped according to the Product Grouping Table for performing balancing calculations.

Products included;

• Crude Oil and Equivalent (OIL, BITUMEN, COND, SYNCRD, IC5-SP, NC5-SP, C5-SP, C6-SP)
• Gas GAS, ACGAS, CO₂, N2)
• Ethane (C2-SP)
• Propane (C3-SP)
• Butanes (IC4-SP, NC4-SP, C4-SP)
• NGL (IC5-MX, NC5-MX, C5-MX, C6-MX, IC4-MX, NC4-MX, C4-MX C3-MX, C2-MX, LITEMX, C1-MX, C02-MX)
• Sulphur (SUL, SPRILL, SMOLT, SBASE, SBLOC, SFORM, SLATE)

Standards of Measurements

Crude Oil and Equivalent: m³ at 15°C
Gas: 10^{3 3} at 101.325 kPa and 15°C
Ethane: m³ at 15°C
Propane: m³ at 15°C
Butane: m³ at 15°C
Natural Gas Liquids: m³ at 15°C
Sulphur: tonnes

GAS: STORAGE INJECTION 
Volume of raw or marketable gas injected into a commercial underground reservoir for storage, as approved by the AER under the requirements outlined in Directive 065: Resources Applications.

GAS: STORAGE WITHDRAWALS
Withdrawal of raw or marketable gas from a AER approved commercial underground reservoir.

GAS: OTHER INJECTION
Volume of gas injected into an underground reservoir for the purpose of proprietary storage, disposal, or to increase recovery efficiency.

GAS: RAW
Volume of gas derived from upstream facilities such as battery, gas gathering system, and gas plant (excluding mainline straddle plants) facilities.

GAS: PROCESSED 
Volume of gas derived from straddle plant facilities, pipelines, distributors, and transportation facilities.

PLANT PROCESS (Plant Production)
Volumes of gas byproducts extracted from the gas stream received at a gas processing or gas gathering system facility. It is referred to as gas processing plant or gas gathering system production on the publication.

FRACTIONATION YIELD 
Volumes of gas byproducts fractionated when a facility receives natural gas liquids as a mixed product and then fractionates (splits) the mix product into component products (spec propane, butanes, etc.) for delivery to market.