A Made-in-Alberta Failure: Unfunded Oil and Gas Closure Liability - Drew Yewchuk, Shaun Fluker, Martin Olszynski

The current policy to deal with the problem, the 2020 Liability Management Framework, fails to address these structural problems and is consequently unlikely to substantially reduce inventories of orphan and inactive assets. [...] Under the new framework, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will not disclose financial information on licensees or even the general state of the oil and gas industry. [...] They deserve a full accounting for the policies that have led to this state of affairs and they need unimpeded access to all of the relevant facts and information so that they can better understand the policy choices facing them as residents and taxpayers in the province. [...] Abandonment: Abandonment is decommissioning, or the permanent dismantlement of a well or facility, so it is left in a safe and secure condition, or the permanent deactivation of a pipeline. [...] The term “licensee” is used throughout in this paper to reference the person(s) responsible for performance of closure work; however, readers should be aware that the person(s) responsible may be an entity other than the holder of a licence.