Alberta Oil Careers

Category: Oil Cities

  • City Spotlight: Grande Prairie Alberta

    Are you looking for work in a new city; you may want to consider Grande Prairie Alberta. In this guide we are going to introduce you to Grande Prairie, its population, climate, and economy.

    Location

    Grande Prairie is the main city in northwestern Alberta in western Canada. The city is located on the southern edge of Peace River County and almost on the border with British Columbia. Grande Prairie is located north of the 55th parallel and is 465 kilometers (289 miles) northwest of Edmonton. The city is bounded by farmland to the north, east, and west, and by immense boreal forest to the south. The city is on the edge of the aspen parkland which contains the northernmost area of aspen in North America which has long been altered from widespread oil and gas drilling.

    Climate

    Grande Prairie has a climate typical of northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Winters in Grande Prairie are often very cold with some mild spells and the summers are typically mild throughout the day and cool at night. Hot days over 30°C (86°F) are uncommon, and only occur one to two times per year which is not unexpected for a northern Alberta climate. Winters vary from year to year.

    The average temperature in Grande Prairie in January is -15°C however temperatures as low as -52°C have been recorded in previous years.

    Population

    Grande Prairie is one of Canada’s fastest growing cities and as of the 2006 Canadian census Grande Prairie has a total population of 47,076. Grande Prairie is Alberta’s seventh largest incorporated city and is the largest city between Edmonton, Alberta and Fairbanks, Alaska.

    Economy

    Grande Prairie has one of the most diverse economies in all of Alberta. Their economy covers agriculture, forestry, oil, and natural gas. There have been two major oilfield discoveries in this area with the Elmworth and Deep Basin fields which has brought substantial oil and natural gas development to the area. Major employers in Grande Prairie are Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd., Burlington Resources, Bonus Well Servicing, Schlumberger, Devon Energy Corporation, Talisman Energy, and EnCana.

    Here are some related articles about oil field jobs:

  • City Spotlight: Fort McMurray Alberta

    Have you been thinking about making the move to Fort McMurray Alberta but don’t know anything about the city? Well we have the right guide for you; in this article we highlight the city of Fort McMurray Alberta, its location, history, population, climate, and economy.

    Fort McMurray, or as it is commonly referenced to in the media “Fort McMoney” is an oil boom town located in Northeastern Alberta in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Although it has a large enough population and many people think of it as a city, Fort McMurray is technically not a city as it is un-incorporated.

    Location

    Fort McMurray is located in northeastern Alberta Approximately 435 kilometers (270 miles) northeast of Edmonton on highway 63 and about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Saskatchewan. It is located in the boreal forest at the convergence of the Athabasca River and the Clearwater River.

    History

    Before European settlers arrived in the 18th century, the First Nations tribes “The Cree” were the dominant peoples of the Fort McMurray area and were known to use the oil sands to waterproof their canoes and housing.

    Fort McMurray has played a considerable role in the history and developments within the Canadian petroleum industry. Oil exploration is believed to have been going on in Fort McMurray since the early 20th century, but wasn’t seriously examined until 1921 when the Alcan Oil Company showed interest in developing a refining plant in Fort McMurray to separate the oil from the sands.

    Abasands Oil was actually the first company that successfully extracted oil from the oil sands through a process known as “hot water extraction” in the 1930s.

    In 1967, the Great Canadian Oil Sands Plant opened for business and Fort McMurray’s economy skyrocketed and has been skyrocketing ever since.

    Population

    As of 2006 Fort McMurray’s population is 64,441 and has sustained an average annual growth rate of almost 9% since 1999. Fort McMurray’s population is forecasted to reach the 100,000 mark by 2012. Native Albertans make up almost half of Fort McMurray’s population while the second largest denomination of people in Fort McMurray are people from Newfoundland and Labrador, with 20% of the population.

    Fort McMurray is a very cold place to be in the winter but has moderate temperatures in the summer. Fort McMurray’s climate is actually classified as sub arctic. In January, the average temperature in Fort McMurray is -19.8°C (-3.6°F) while the average temperature in July is 16.6°C (61.9°F).

    Economy

    Fort McMurray is located close to the Athabasca Oil Sands and serves as a base of operations for many of the companies and employees that work in the Oil Sands. Fort McMurray is considered one of the major cores of oil production in Alberta and its economy is largely based on the oil sands industry. Fort McMurray’s economy also relies on oil pipelines, natural gas, and forestry.

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