The 100% industry-funded Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)—the sole regulator of the province’s energy sector—manages licensing and enforcement related to the full lifecycle of oil and gas wells based on Alberta Environment Ministry requirements, including orphaned and abandoned wells.[5][6][7] Oil and gas licensees are liable for the responsible and safe closure and clean-up of their oil and gas well sites under the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP)[8] as a legal asset retirement obligation (ARO).[5][6][9][10] An operator’s liability for surface reclamation issues continues for 25 years following the issuance of a site reclamation certificate. There is also a lifelong liability in case of contamination.[11][12]
Then just a liiiiiiittle further down the page:
As of March 2023, oil and gas companies owe rural municipalities $268 million in unpaid taxes;[17] they owe landowners “tens of millions in unpaid lease payments”.[18] Original owners of what are now orphan wells “failed to fulfill their responsibility for costly end-of-life decommissioning and restoration work”; some sold these wells “strategically to insolvent operators”.[18] Landowners suffer both “environmental and economic consequences” of having these wells on their property.[18] OWA funding is underfunded by at least several hundred million.[18] The total estimate for cleaning up all existing sites is as much as $260 billion. Remediation is paid for through federal and provincial bailouts, a PPP violation.[18]
Really wish Albertans understood how badly they’re being hoses by O&G…
The thing is, people do know about it here. Add it to the list of unsustainable things about the industry people are willing to overlook because they’re making great money today.
Shouldn’t have consented to a well on your land if you were at all concerned with the environment you greedy fucks. Really zero sympathy for these jackoffs complaining. They were fine with ruining their land when they were getting paid lease money
Add onto that the very common practice of O&G companies playing shell games to leave Alberta with the bill for cleaning up spent wells.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_wells_in_Alberta,_Canada
From the wiki page:
Then just a liiiiiiittle further down the page:
Really wish Albertans understood how badly they’re being hoses by O&G…
The thing is, people do know about it here. Add it to the list of unsustainable things about the industry people are willing to overlook because they’re making great money today.
🤦
Shouldn’t have consented to a well on your land if you were at all concerned with the environment you greedy fucks. Really zero sympathy for these jackoffs complaining. They were fine with ruining their land when they were getting paid lease money