Oil & Gas – Page 7

Decisions Commented On: Bilodeau v Her Majesty The Queen in the Right of Ontario, 2022 ONSC 1742 (CanLII) and 2022 ONSC 4275 (Costs Endorsement).

PDF Version: Well Abandonment and Reclamation in Ontario

Over the years ABlawg has published numerous comments on the law pertaining to reclamation and abandonment obligations and the associated orphan well fund in Alberta. See, for example, Drew Yewchuk’s many excellent posts on these issues. This comment deals with a recent decision in Ontario which, while in itself a successful enforcement action, does highlight deficiencies in the law and practice pertaining to the abandonment and reclamation of old oil and gas wells in that province.

Sharing Geological Pore Space Disposal Capacity

By Nigel Bankes

On November 22, 2022

In Environmental, Oil & Gas

By: Nigel Bankes

Decision commented on: 2022 ABAER 004, Pure Environmental Waste Management Ltd., Applications 1614037, 1784753, 1809825, 1928016, 1928017, 1928430, 30602032, 30608918, and 30608934 Hangingstone Project, October 20, 2022

PDF Version: Sharing Geological Pore Space Disposal Capacity

This decision is a follow-up decision to two decisions from 2020 dealing with Pure Environmental Waste Management’s Hangingstone waste disposal project: 2020 ABAER 004 and 2020 ABAER 005. I commented on those two decisions here: “More Competition For Underground Disposal Space” and I refer readers to that earlier comment for a more detailed account of the facts.

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

By Drew Yewchuk

On November 8, 2022

In Natural Resources, Oil & Gas

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).

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

By Drew Yewchuk

On September 21, 2022

In Oil & Gas

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.

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

By Drew Yewchuk

On August 17, 2022

In Oil & Gas

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.