Breakdown Of Just How Alberta's Oil & Gas Companies Get Out Of Paying For . . . Well, Just About Everything

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The oil and gas companies will determine an area where they want to drill, sign an agreement with the landowner setting out the terms of the lease and then fence off the area around a well or facility. The agreement includes the amount to be paid to the landowner for loss of access to that land until the well is decommissioned and then certified as reclaimed. Unlike rent for something like an apartment, where landlords generally choose their tenants, landowners can’t say no to an oil and gas company that wants to set up shop on their land.

If the cheques keep coming, the arrangement usually works, assuming there aren’t any leaks, spills or other issues. When the cheques stop coming, you hear about it. Companies in financial distress, or bad actors, often cut costs by halting their lease payments. It’s an easy expense to drop immediately and, as we’ll discuss, there are government backstops for the landowners. Sometimes it’s a company that is struggling financially, but sometimes it’s a company that snaps up a lot of wells for next to nothing and then immediately stops paying the leases.

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The government says it will recoup money paid out for oil and gas company leases, but it rarely does. Between 2010 and 2024, the government paid approximately $150 million to cover unpaid leases. It recovered approximately $1.4 million — less than one per cent. In 2024, for example, the government had only collected $167,000 — 0.06 per
cent.

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Do oil and gas companies pay municipal taxes? Yes, municipal taxes are property taxes, just like someone pays on their home or business. Those taxes go to local governments where oil and gas companies operate and help pay for things like schools and roads. This is another big issue in rural Alberta, where municipalities are owed approximately $254 million in unpaid taxes, according to Rural Municipalities of Alberta. The organization, which advocates for towns and counties across the provinces, says its members have written off an additional $200 million in debts, meaning it will never be collected. Approximately $100 million of the outstanding amount is owed by 201 companies that are still operating. According to a survey of its member municipalities, many were forced to raise taxes on individuals and other companies to make up the shortfall.

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https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-surface-lease-explainer/

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1. "Advanced, open and market-based"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta

Alberta's economy is advanced, open, market-based, and characterized by a highly educated workforce, strong institutions and property rights, and sophisticated financial markets. While most Albertans work in the service sector, Alberta does possess a significant industrial base, intelligence economy and energy sector. This energy sector is famously focused in oil and gas extraction. Oil and gas has been culturally influential, having shaped politics, generated "striking it rich" narratives, and created boom-and-bust cycles.[18]
The majority of Alberta's exports are sent to the United States, and consist of 70% oil and gas, 13% food products, and 12% industrial products.[16][17]
In 2023, Alberta's output was $350 billion, 15% of Canada's GDP.[19]

This is another big issue in rural Alberta, where municipalities are owed approximately $254 million in unpaid taxes, according to Rural Municipalities of Alberta. The organization, which advocates for towns and counties across the provinces, says its members have written off an additional $200 million in debts, meaning it will never be collected.

These jerks could totally pay a piddly 200 million but they won’t .
Predatory parasites all…