165 Years of Canadian Oil & Gas
Watch 853,000 wells unfold from 1860 to 2025
This 10-minute timelapse visualizes every oil and gas well drilled in Canada over 165 years. Each dot represents a real well site, appearing at its actual drill date and location across Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.
4K @ 60fps • Blue = Oil • Red = Gas • Purple = Other
Historical Highlights
Watch for these key moments as the timeline unfolds:
1858 First commercial oil well in North America drilled in Oil Springs, Ontario
1914 Turner Valley discovery sparks Alberta's first oil boom
1947 Leduc No. 1 transforms Canada into a major oil producer
1970s OPEC crisis drives unprecedented drilling expansion
1980 National Energy Program controversy reshapes the industry
2000s Oil sands development accelerates in northern Alberta
2014–20 Price crashes reshape drilling activity across Western Canada
Data Sources
This visualization draws from official provincial well registries including the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), BC Energy Regulator, and Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario energy ministries. The dataset includes 853,000+ well sites with drill dates, locations, and fluid types.
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