Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – Manitoba

Energy Production

Crude Oil

• In 2020, Manitoba produced 42.1 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d) of conventional light crude oil (Figure 1). Manitoba accounted for about 1% of total Canadian crude oil production (including condensate and pentanes plus) as of 2020.
• All of Manitoba’s current oil production is located in the southwestern corner of the province.
• Manitoba’s remaining resource of crude oil is estimated to be 730 million barrels as of the end of December 2019.

Refined Petroleum Products (RPPs)

• There are no refineries in Manitoba.

Natural Gas/Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs)

• There is no natural gas or NGL production in Manitoba.

Electricity

• In 2019, Manitoba generated 33.9 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity (Figure 2), which is approximately 5% of total Canadian generation. Manitoba has an estimated generating capacity of 6 100 megawatts (MW).
• Manitoba Hydro is the largest producer of electricity in Manitoba and supplies most of the province’s electricity needs from 15 hydroelectric generating stations, the largest of which are located along the Nelson River. It also operates one natural gas-fired generating station and four remote diesel generating stations. Wind, biomass, and some solar facilities are operated by independent producers.
• The majority of Manitoba’s installed generation capacity is hydroelectricity. In 2019, 97% of its generation was derived from hydroelectricity.
• The 695 MW Keeyask Generating Station on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba is currently under construction, with work continuing on the final two units. Keeyask went into commercial service in early 2021 and all seven units are expected to be in operation by spring 2022.
• In 2019, wind accounted for approximately 4% of Manitoba’s electricity generation capacity. Since 2005, about 230 MW of wind was added to Manitoba’s power capacity.
• Manitoba has phased out coal for electricity generation. The last coal-fired generating unit in Manitoba ceased operation in 2018 and is now being used as a synchronous condenser to help stabilize the transmission system. Manitoba also started decreasing the operation of thermal generating units in the Selkirk Generating Station in July 2020. It was fully decommissioned in April 2021.

Energy Transportation and Trade

Crude Oil and Liquids

• Two major export pipelines pass through Manitoba: TC Energy's Keystone and the Enbridge Mainline.
• Keystone ships western Canadian crude oil to refining markets in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. It originates at Hardisty, Alberta, and extends to Steele City, Nebraska. From Nebraska, crude oil can be transported east to Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, or south to Cushing, Oklahoma, and the Gulf Coast.
• The Enbridge Mainline ships western Canadian crude oil and liquids to markets in eastern Canada and the U.S. The Mainline also transports refined petroleum products to Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It enters Manitoba from Saskatchewan near Cromer, and exits at the U.S. border near Gretna where it joins with the Enbridge Lakehead system.
• The Enbridge Line 3 Replacement (L3R) Project became fully operational in October 2021. Forming part of the Enbridge Mainline, Line 3 delivers crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin. The L3R Project increased the pipeline’s capacity to 760 Mb/d.
• The Enbridge Cromer Terminal has a capacity of about 2.4 million barrels and is the gathering point for nearly all of the light and medium crude oil produced in southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan.
• The Enbridge Cromer Terminal connects the Mainline with several pipeline systems, including Kingston Midstream’s Westspur (formerly TEMLWestpur Pipelines), Enbridge's Bakken, and Plains Midstream’s Wapella pipeline (Figure 3). Westspur and Enbridge Bakken are two smaller pipeline systems that transport crude oil from Saskatchewan and North Dakota to the Enbridge Mainline. The Wapella pipeline carries crude oil from southern Saskatchewan to the Enbridge Mainline.
• Enbridge’s Southern Lights pipeline parallels the Enbridge Mainline in Manitoba, but it is used to import condensate from the U.S. to Alberta.
• The Winnipeg Products Pipeline delivers RPPs from the Enbridge Mainline at Gretna to Winnipeg.
• There are two crude oil rail loading terminals in Manitoba, with a total estimated capacity of 68 Mb/d. The Kingston Midstream-operated Cromer Rail Terminal is the largest, with a capacity of 60 Mb/d. The CN/Watco Rail Terminal in Woodnorth is operated by Watco Terminal and Port Services and has a capacity of 8 Mb/d.

Natural Gas

• TC Energy’s Canadian Mainline transports natural gas produced in western Canada and supplies consumers in central and eastern Canada, as well as the U.S. The pipeline extends from the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and crosses through southern Manitoba, Ontario, and a portion of Quebec (Figure 4). Nearly all of the natural gas used in Manitoba is delivered on the Canadian Mainline.
• The Mainline can export gas at two interconnections on the Canada/U.S. border in Manitoba: Emerson 1 connects with the Viking Gas Transmission Pipeline, and Emerson 2 connects with the Great Lakes Gas Transmission Pipeline.
• Manitoba also can import gas from the U.S. at Emerson during periods of peak winter demand, although there have been no imports since 2016.
• Centra Gas distributes natural gas to approximately 268 000 customers in more than 100 communities in southern Manitoba. Centra is owned by Manitoba Hydro and is regulated by the Manitoba Public Utilities Board.
• A Manitoba Hydro compressed natural gas station in southwest Winnipeg provides a back-up supply of natural gas for customers in southern Manitoba.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• There are no proposed or existing LNG facilities in Manitoba.

Electricity

• In 2019, Manitoba’s net electricity interprovincial and international outflows were 7.9 TWh. Manitoba’s trading partners include the U.S. Midwest, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
• Manitoba has more than 11 000 km of electricity transmission lines and more than 75 000 km of distribution lines.
• Manitoba Hydro’s $5 billion Bipole III Transmission Line was completed in July 2018 and delivers electricity from northern Manitoba to southern Manitoba and the U.S.
• Manitoba Hydro’s Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Line, a 500 kilovolt (kV) line from the Winnipeg area to the U.S. border in southeastern Manitoba went into service June 2020. This new transmission line increases Manitoba Hydro’s export capacity by 885 MW.
• Manitoba Hydro completed its Birtle Transmission Project in March 2021. Under this project, Manitoba Hydro constructed a 230 kV transmission line that runs from Birtle Station in western Manitoba to Saskatchewan. The new line allows Manitoba Hydro to fulfill a 20-year power sales contract with SaskPower, Saskatchewan’s electrical utility.

Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

Total Energy Consumption

• Total end-use demand in Manitoba was 340 petajoules (PJ) in 2019. The largest sector for energy demand was transportation at 32% of total demand, followed by industrial at 32%, commercial at 19%, and residential at 17% (Figure 5). Manitoba’s total energy demand was the seventh largest in Canada, and the seventh largest per capita.
• RPPs, including gasoline and diesel, were the largest fuel type consumed in Manitoba, accounting for 151 PJ, or 44% of total end-use demand. Natural gas and electricity accounted for 96 PJ (28%) and 80 PJ (24%), respectively (Figure 6).

Refined Petroleum Products

• Manitoba’s motor gasoline demand in 2019 was 1 449 litres per capita, 14% above the national average of 1 268 litres per capita.
• Manitoba’s diesel demand in 2019 was 1 072 litres per capita, 25% above the national average of 855 litres per capita.
• The majority of gasoline consumed in Manitoba comes from refineries in Alberta and Saskatchewan. RPPs from Alberta are mainly transported by the Enbridge Mainline and the Winnipeg Products Pipeline, while RPPs from Saskatchewan and elsewhere are delivered primarily by rail.

Natural Gas

• Manitoba consumed an average of 207 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas in 2020, which represented 2% of total Canadian demand.
• Manitoba’s largest consuming sector for natural gas was the industrial sector, which consumed 82 MMcf/d in 2020. The commercial and residential sectors consumed 68.5 MMcf/d and 56.5 MMcf/d, respectively.

Electricity

• In 2019, annual electricity consumption per capita in Manitoba was 16.2 megawatt-hours (MWh). Manitoba ranked sixth in Canada for per capita electricity consumption and consumed 9% more than the national average.
• The largest consuming sector for electricity in Manitoba in 2019 was residential at 8.8 TWh. The commercial and industrial sectors consumed 7.0 TWh and 6.4 TWh, respectively.

GHG Emissions

• Manitoba’s GHG emissions in 2020 were 21.7 megatonnes (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e).^Footnote 1 Manitoba’s emissions have increased 19% since 1990 and 6% since 2005.
• Manitoba’s emissions per capita are 15.7 tonnes of CO₂e – 11% below the Canadian average of 17.7 tonnes per capita.
• The largest emitting sectors in Manitoba are agriculture at 34%, transportation at 31%, and buildings (residential and service industry) at 14% of total emissions (Figure 7).
• Manitoba’s GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector in 2020 were 0.89 MT of CO₂e, attributable to crude oil production and oil and gas transmission.
• Manitoba generates virtually all its electricity from renewable sources. As such, it emits less than 0.1 MT CO₂e emissions from electricity generation, or 0.1% of total Canadian GHG emissions from power generation.
• The greenhouse gas intensity of Manitoba’s electricity grid, measured as the GHGs emitted in the generation of the province’s electric power, was 1.1 grams of CO₂e per kilowatt-hour (g of CO₂e/kWh) electricity generated in 2020. This is an 89% reduction from the province’s 2005 level of 9.7 g of CO₂e/kWh. The national average in 2020 was 110 g of CO₂e/kWh (Figure 8).

More Information

• Manitoba Public Utilities Board
• Manitoba Hydro
• Manitoba Petroleum Branch
• CER–Canada's Renewable Power: Manitoba
• CER–Market Snapshot: Of nearly 50 companies that export electricity, three account for more than half of all exports in 2019
• CER–Market Snapshot: Even though Canada exports a lot of electricity, it imports a lot too
• CER–Market Snapshot: Increasing western Canadian non-oil sands oil production varies by province

Date modified:

2024-02-22