Author Archives: Drew Yewchuk

About Drew Yewchuk

B.A. (UAlberta) J.D. (UCalgary) LLM (U.B.C.) Drew was a full-time staff lawyer with the University of Calgary's Public Interest Law Clinic from 2018-2022. He is now an PhD student at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. His research focuses on administrative secrecy, access to information law, species at risk, resource law, and environmental liabilities.

Fighting Over History at a Special Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta

By: Drew Yewchuk

Commented on: Resolution on Rule 67.4 Defeated at The Special Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta held February 6, 2023

PDF Version: Fighting Over History at a Special Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta

This post describes the procedure and results of the Special Meeting of the Law Society of Alberta held on Monday February 6, 2023, and then comments on what it all meant. The purpose of the special meeting was described on ABlawg in a previous post by Koren Lightning-Earle, Hadley Friedland, Anna Lund, Sarah N Kriekle, Heather (Hero) Laird here, and I refer readers needing background on the Resolution, and the purpose of the Special Meeting, to their post. I attended the special meeting and this post follows up with notes on the meeting itself. Continue reading →

The AER Quietly Implemented a Two-Tier Mandatory Closure Spend Target

By: Drew Yewchuk

Regulatory Change Commented On: The AER’s Inventory Reduction Program

 PDF Version: The AER Quietly Implemented a Two-Tier Mandatory Closure Spend Target

Starting in mid-2021, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) adopted a new liability management framework to address the problems of inactive conventional oil and gas assets. The new liability management framework includes mandatory closure spend targets, a requirement for companies to spend a certain amount on closure work each year. The mandatory closure spend targets deal with the liabilities of inactive assets and not orphan assets (it is not to be confused with the orphan fund levy, used to fund the Orphan Well Association that abandons and remediates wells with owners that went bankrupt). Continue reading →

The Sequoia Bankruptcy Part 4: Costs Lost in Time and Perpetual’s New Subsidiary

By: Drew Yewchuk

Cases Commented on: PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc v Perpetual Energy Inc, 2022 ABQB 592

PDF Version: The Sequoia Bankruptcy Part 4: Costs Lost in Time and Perpetual’s New Subsidiary

This is part 4 of a series on the litigation resulting from the Bankruptcy of Sequoia Resources Corp. (Sequoia). Part 1 covered the first application for summary dismissal and an application to intervene. Part 2 covered a costs decision against the trustee and the appeal of the first summary dismissal. Part 3 covered interlocutory decisions and the appeal of the second summary dismissal decision. Continue reading →

The Alberta Energy Regulator Enforces New Licensee Capability Assessment and Restricts License Eligibility of AlphaBow

By: Drew Yewchuk

AER Administrative Sanction Commented On: 202207-13, AlphaBow Energy Ltd.

PDF Version: The Alberta Energy Regulator Enforces New Licensee Capability Assessment and Restricts License Eligibility of AlphaBow

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued an administrative sanction to AlphaBow Energy Ltd. on July 28, 2022. Two aspects of the sanction make this an interesting case rather than a routine enforcement action: first, the history of AlphaBow, and second, that the administrative sanction is the AER implementing their new approach to liability management, so the terms and the ultimate outcome of this administrative sanction are a decent indication of things to come. Continue reading →

Alberta’s Orphan and Unreclaimed Oil and Gas Assets in July 2022

By: Drew Yewchuk

Annual Report Commented On: Orphan Well Association Annual Report 2021/2022; AER Bulletin 2022-23 Mandatory Closure Spend Target Set for 2023

PDF Version: Alberta’s Orphan and Unreclaimed Oil and Gas Assets in July 2022

The Orphan Well Association (OWA) released their annual report for 2021/2022 this month, and the AER posted Bulletin 2022-23 updating the mandatory closure spend targets. This post discusses these two documents and describes the current state of Alberta’s orphan and inactive oil and gas assets. For greater background on the OWA and the history of the problem, see here. Continue reading →