Category: Oil & Gas Page 2 of 54

The Liabilities Go Up and the Security Stays the Same: The Oilsands Mine Financial Security Program in 2024

On October 4, 2024

By: Drew Yewchuk and Martin Olszynski

Documents Commented on: Mine Financial Security Program – Security and Liability (2024); Annual Mine Financial Security Program Submissions 2024 Submissions for 2023 Reporting Year

PDF Version: The Liabilities Go Up and the Security Stays the Same: The Oilsands Mine Financial Security Program in 2024

This is our annual update post in response to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) posting the annual submissions for the Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP). The MFSP is ostensibly Alberta’s system for obtaining financial security for the closure of oilsands and coal mines. See last year’s post here, and a lengthy discussion of the problems with the MFSP in our 2023 paper coauthored with Andrew Leach, “Not Fit for Purpose: Oil Sands Mines and Alberta’s Mine Financial Security Program”.

Administrative Penalties at the Alberta Energy Regulator: Regulatory Penalties for the Kearl Oilsands Leak

By Drew Yewchuk

On September 4, 2024

In Administrative Law, Energy, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk

Decisions Commented On: AER Notice of Administrative Penalty 202408-009, AER Administrative Sanction 202408-010, and AER News Release 2024-08-22

PDF Version: Administrative Penalties at the Alberta Energy Regulator: Regulatory Penalties for the Kearl Oilsands Leak

On August 22, 2024, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued notice of administrative penalty 202408-009 (penalty decision) and administrative sanction 202408-010 (administrative sanction) (together, the ‘enforcement decisions’) imposing terms and conditions to Imperial Oil Resources Limited (Imperial Oil). The AER also issued a news release about these two enforcement actions. This post assesses the AER’s enforcement decisions and the justifications provided for them.

The Alberta Energy Regulator’s Planned Timelines for Orphan, Inactive, and Decommissioned Oil and Gas Infrastructure

By Drew Yewchuk

On August 16, 2024

In Energy, Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk

Regulatory Memo Commented On: Orphan Well Association Annual Report 2023/2024 and AER Bulletin 2024-19, Industry-Wide Closure Spend Requirement for 2025

PDF Version: The Alberta Energy Regulator’s Planned Timelines for Orphan, Inactive, and Decommissioned Oil and Gas Infrastructure

In the past few weeks, the Orphan Well Association (OWA) released their 2023/2024 annual report and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) announced the 2025 closure spend requirement. This post assesses the OWA’s plan for the closure of the orphan inventory and the AER’s plan for closure of inactive and decommissioned infrastructure. When does the AER plan for the OWA to complete the closure of the orphan inventory and when does the AER plan for industry to finish decommissioning and reclaiming (or posting security for) Alberta’s inactive and decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure? Target closure dates can be determined by extrapolating from the current orphan fund levy and the closure spend requirement and the estimated total costs of closure.

The Problem with Industry Control of the OWA, and OWA Control of Oil and Gas Insolvency

By Drew Yewchuk

On July 9, 2024

In Oil & Gas

By: Drew Yewchuk & Shaun Fluker

Regulatory Memo Commented On: Internal Alberta Energy Regulator Memorandum, Unintended Consequences of Ministerial Order 043/2023 in Insolvency April 11, 2024

PDF Version: The Problem with Industry Control of the OWA, and OWA Control of Oil and Gas Insolvency

The focus of this post is an internal memorandum written by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) Orphaning and Insolvency team: the AER Memorandum on Unintended Consequences of Ministerial Order 043/2023 in Insolvency (the Unintended Consequences Memo). We describe a regulatory problem with potentially serious consequences for municipalities and the public that has not been disclosed to the public by the AER. The Unintended Consequences Memo was obtained in records obtained by the Faculty’s Public Interest Law Clinic in its ongoing closure liabilities access-to-information project under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 2000, c F-25 (FOIP).

Waiting for a Credible Cost Estimate of Oil and Gas Closure Liabilities and the Problem with CARL

By Drew Yewchuk

On May 27, 2024

In Oil & Gas

Regulatory Bulletin Commented On: AER Bulletin 2024-11: Conditional Adjustment of Reclamation Liability (CARL) Program and New Edition of Directive 088 and Manual 023

PDF Version: Waiting for a Credible Cost Estimate of Oil and Gas Liabilities and the Problem with CARL

This post describes and assesses the Conditional Adjustment of Reclamation Liability (CARL) Program announced by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) in April 2024 and discusses a central question about Alberta’s conventional oil and gas closure liabilities: the absence of a credible official cost estimate. “Conventional oil and gas” in this context means wells, pipelines, and facilities, but excludes Large Facilities and oilsands mines, which have separate regulatory systems.