Shaun Fluker on Bill 2 in Alberta: Implications for Landowner Participation

Click on the following link to read a comment by University of Calgary Assistant Professor Shaun Fluker on Alberta Bill 2 (Responsible Energy Development Act) and it implications for landowner participation: Bill 2 and its implications for landowner participation in energy project decision-making.  Fluker's observations on the bill include the following:

Bill 2 contains no statutory obligation on the Regulator to conduct a hearing either before or after it makes a decision on whether to approve a proposed energy project.  Bill 2 repeals the statutory hearing rights provided to a landonwer in section 26(2) of the ERCA to contest an energy project application, and does not replace them.

Sarg Oils Limited well abandonment saga continues

Professor Nigel Bankes of the University of Calgary has posted a comment on a recent review decision by the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB).  The decision relates to a failure by Sarg Oils Limited to pay the costs of abandoning oil and gas wells in Alberta.  Sarg had failed to abandon the facilities itself, so the ERCB conducted the abandonment and then sought to recover its costs from Sarg.  Bankes points out the possibility that the Orphan Well Fund may end up having to cover costs of further abandonments.  He notes that, although the oil and gas industry is supposed to cover the cost of the Fund, the Alberta government injected $30,000,000 into the Orphan Fund as part of a package of incentives for the energy industry in 2009.

Read the comment at: Nigel Bankes' comment on Sarg Oils Limited.