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Production in Canada's western %Oil sands region is forecast to rise 15% by 2030, according to a new report from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The report estimates that the Canadian oil sands will produce 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude by 2030, a 15% increase from current levels.

The growth in coming years is likely to be fueled by companies optimizing their existing projects and making them more efficient, says S&P Global.

Oil sands production in the western Canadian province of Alberta has increased by 1.3 million barrels per day over the last decade and currently stands at 3.3 million barrels per day.

Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, with around two-thirds of its 4.9 million barrels per day of output coming from the northern Alberta oil sands region.

The oil sands hold the world's third-largest bitumen reserves and the pace of production growth continues to impact global oil supplies.

Environmentalists continue to criticize Canada over its oil sands production, claiming that the country produces significant greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

However, the S&P Global report says that oil sands production is likely to peak towards the end of this decade and then slow.

The plateau in oil sands production will be the result of a slowing in optimization projects, uncertainty over a planned oil and gas emissions cap, and the need for new pipeline capacity, says S&P Global Commodity Insights in its report.