Our nation needs more supplies of all energy sources, including oil and natural gas, to meet growing energy demand and provide consumers with reliable supplies of fuel. What many Americans don’t know is that the U.S. gets more oil from Canada than from any other country.

Canadian oil is a reliable and plentiful strategic resource for meeting our nation’s growing energy demand and making the United States more energy secure.

Here are some of the most asked questions and answers about Canadian oil sands:

How abundant are Canada’s oil reserves, and what portion do oil sands constitute? Canadian oil reserves are vast and are second only to Saudi Arabia, using current technological assessments. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, oil sands now account for more than half of western Canada’s total oil production. By 2025, production from Canadian oil sands is expected to rise from about 1.3 million barrels per day to about 3.3 million barrels per day.

Why is Canadian oil important to the United States? Canada and the United States have an excellent trading and political relationship, and Canada’s reliable and plentiful oil is crucial to improving our nation’s energy security and meeting its growing energy demand.

The economic impact of Canadian oil sands development is a boon for the U.S. economy and is expected to lead to the creation of more than 340,000 new U.S. jobs between 2011 and 2025.

How much of its oil does Canada export to the United States? Currently, Canada sends more than 99 percent of its oil exports to the United States—the bulk of which goes to Midwestern refineries. By getting more of their oil from Canada, Midwest refineries would move from the back of the crude oil supply line to the front—making them less vulnerable to supply disruptions caused by geopolitical upheaval or storms in the Gulf of Mexico.

What are oil sands and how are they used? Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water and a form of petroleum called bitumen—which can be upgraded for synthetic crude oil and refined to make asphalt, gasoline, jet fuel and some chemicals.

How do oil sands factor into the U.S. energy mix? According to EIA, Canada is the number-one supplier of imported oil and natural gas to the United States. Of the Canadian crude oil brought into this country, approximately half is derived from oil sands. According to a study released in May 2009 by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, if oil sands development is maximized, the amount of oil the Unites States imports from Canada could potentially double by 2035.

Are there economic benefits associated with producing crude derived from Canadian oil sands? A study commissioned by API and conducted by the Canadian Energy Research Institute, "Canada's Oil Sands and Economic Impact on the United States' Economy," says greater production of Canada's oil sands is expected to stimulate economic activity in both countries, creating more than 340,000 new jobs in the U.S. alone.

As oil sands production and investment rises, the demand for U.S. goods and services also increases, adding an estimated $34 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 and $42.2 billion in 2025.

The benefits of oil sands development do not fall to only one industry or any one region in the U.S. but are broadly shared across many industrial sectors and regions. Huge sums are being invested to build new pipelines and expand refineries to transport and process Canadian oil.

Are there environmental concerns regarding the use of crude derived from oil sands? The extraction and processing of oil sands do, on average, result in higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than light, sweet (low-sulfur) crude oil. But so do many of the heavy, high-sulfur crudes that are being produced in the United States and around the world. On a life cycle (or well-to-wheels) GHG emission basis, oil derived from Canadian oil sands is comparable with other crudes refined in the United States. We believe that the United States is equipped to manage the emissions from crude derived from oil sands with greater care than if it were processed in regions of the world with less stringent environmental standards— not to mention the environmental costs of transporting the crude elsewhere.

What steps are being taken to limit the environmental impact of the practice? The oil and natural gas industry remains committed providing the energy our nation needs to power its economy in a reliable and environmentally-responsible manner. To this end, the oil and gas industry has invested $58 billion, which is 44% of all low and zero carbon technology investments, in the US between 2000 and 2008. This is more than what the federal government or all other industries combined are investing.

Does the use of oil sands affect the quality of the refined product? Using oil sands as a feedstock does not affect the quality of the refined products. In fact, gasoline and other fuels made from oil sands already are being used in the United States. Every project is required to adhere to applicable federal, state and local regulations and permitting conditions. And the vast investments refiners and pipeline operators are making to increase capacity and flexibility to process oil sands includes the equipment necessary to make products that meet all required specifications.

Read the study, "Canada's Oil Sands and Economic Impact on the United States' Economy," and this Canadian oil sands primer for more information.