What is the future of oil and gas in Saskatchewan? It's a conversation that we should be willing to have in this province. Here are some charts to put the issue in context. First up, SK's greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector from 1990-2018.

GHG emissions from Saskatchewan's oil and gas sector were 22.7 Megatonnes (Mt) in 2018, which is about 30% of the 76.44 Mt provincial total.

We can split out the oil and gas emissions to see where they are coming from. Emissions from conventional light oil production have been increasing in recent years, while emissions from conventional heavy oil production have declined.

Oil and gas extraction is a big part of Saskatchewan's economy, though the value of output has been relatively constant in the past twenty years (correcting for inflation). In 2018, oil and gas extraction accounted for about 15% of Saskatchewan's GDP.

Because oil and gas is relatively capital-intensive, the sector provides a lower share of Saskatchewan's jobs. The aggregated category of "Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction" employed 19,100 people in 2020, about 3.5% of the total employment in the province.

We all use oil. Oil is valuable. Saskatchewan is an oil producer. Those statements are all true. Also true is that if we want to hold global temperature increase to 1.5C or even 2C, the world needs to hit net-zero CO2 emissions by mid-century. How are we going to get there in SK?