After falling by 21 per cent (765,000 barrels per day) between February and May, Alberta’s monthly oil production increased three times between June and September.

As of September, production was 14 per cent (519,000 barrels per day) below the pre-pandemic level set in February.

Production over the first nine months of 2020 was 890 million barrels, down 7 per cent compared to the 956 million barrels produced during the same period last year.

Conventional production (including condensate) accounted for about 15 per cent of total output over the first nine months of 2020. As of September, conventional production was 18 per cent (108,000 barrels per day) below its February level while oil sands output was down by about 16 per cent (496,000 barrels per day).

Alberta’s oil production is expected to continue to creep back up but, as with so many other things, the timing of this depends on the severity of the second wave of the virus and the development of an effective vaccine.