The Rugged Individualists Of Alberta's Oil Sector Can't/Won't Pay For Well Cleanup - So Here's $100M [View all]

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Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced Monday that more government money — in the form of a loan — will be directed toward Alberta’s orphan well problem, which Energy Minister Sonya Savage dubbed a “growing concern.” The Government of Alberta will loan the province’s Orphan Well Association — which is funded by levies charged to industry — $100 million.

The news comes as a growing number of Albertans have voiced concerns over the potential for the province’s growing inventory of inactive wells to become a massive public liability, raising alarms that the costly price tag for well cleanup could increasingly be shifted to taxpayers.

In recent years, a rapidly increasing number of old oil and gas wells have become “orphans” as companies facing bankruptcy have walked away from their liabilities, either as a result of facing an economic slump in the province, or as savvy business decisions to trade away costly liabilities without punishment — what the Globe and Mail described as a “brisk trade in junk assets.”

Meanwhile, concerns have been mounting about regulatory failures to collect sufficient deposits from companies to cover the eventual cost of cleanup. This has led to an increasing number of wells being foisted onto the Orphan Well Association, which has needed help in the past to cover its costs. Since 2009, the Alberta government has given the Orphan Well Association more than $30 million in grants, and loaned the organization $235 million in 2017.

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https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-loans-industry-funded-association-100-million-to-increase-the-pace-of-orphan-well-cleanup/