We get questions

The Centre for Energy’s portal is loaded with factual and statistical information about Canada’s energy system. But we still get questions, like this one.

Q:  I’m looking for a formula that converts oil and gas production to residential consumption. 

A:  Estimates on the amount of energy required to heat an average Canadian house vary considerably depending on:

• house type
• size of house
• location of house
• quality of construction
• type of heating system
• conversion factors – the energy content of natural gas (GJ per MMcf) varies with composition of the natural gas as well as conversion temperature

Using NRCan’s Office of Energy Efficiency statistics on energy end use, (basically dividing residential heat energy used by number of households) detached single family dwellings use about 0.283 gigajoules per day. Other estimates of energy use per day I’ve seen range from 0.410 gigajoules per day to 0.569.

Assuming the energy content of 1 MMcf of natural gas is equal to 1,026 MMBtu and one MMBtu equals 1.055 gigajoules (109 joules), therefore 1 MMcf of natural gas equals 1,082 gigajoules. So, the energy content of one day’s production from the Sable Project (400 to 450 MMcf of natural gas and equivalents) is between 433,000 and 513,000 gigajoules. (source: Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy) 

Energy Consumption per House	@ 400 Mcf/d	@ 450 MMcf/d
0.283 GJ	1.5 million houses per day	1.8 million houses
0.410 GJ	1.1 million houses	1.25 million houses
0.569 GJ	761,000 houses	902,000 houses

 
Another source states that 35.3 MMcf of natural gas will heat 180 homes for one year, or 65,700 (180 x 365) for a day. So, one day’s production from the Sable Project (400 to 450 MMcf of natural gas and equivalents) would heat between 744,400 (400 ÷ 35.3 x 65,700) and 837,000 (450 ÷ 35.3 x 67,500) homes for one day (2,040 to 2,300 homes per year).

This doesn’t give a precise answer to your question, but it proves that estimates like these are subject to wide variation. As long as you list your assumptions and sources, few will argue with the methodology.

Got a question?
Send it to infoservices@centreforenergy.com  – we’ll answer it and might even publish it on Flow.