In 2004, when applications for the Mackenzie gas project were filed, the demand for natural gas in North America was forecasted to increase by approximately 16 per cent between 2002 and 2010. Today, production from new natural gas sources in Western Canada and the United States is scheduled to increase. New supplies of natural gas have been discovered, and forecasted increases in production capacity have resulted in forecasts of higher supply and lower prices. New regions of exploration and development -- such as shale gas opportunities in the U.S. and Canada, deep water Gulf of Mexico, Eastern Canada offshore, new fields in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and the Mackenzie Delta -- have assisted in the growth of this market.

Despite the recent economic downturn, projected energy and natural gas demand growth in North America, combined with natural declines in existing conventional natural gas production, positions the Mackenzie Gas Project as a significant, vital new supply source for the longer-term North American market.

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