End game of AER/CAPP/Alberta’s putrid hundreds of billions in oilpatch liabilities stench has been known for decades. Yet another review not needed! Just get to work! Start cleaning up!

Subject: Just Simply Command More Work Must Be Undertaken On Idle Wells And Leases—-Industry Knows The Rest!!
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 14:57:47 -0600
From: Stewart Shields email hidden; JavaScript is required
To: United Conservative Party of Alberta email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required
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I believe until Alberta has the abilities to control and pay for their petro pollution—foreign entities has every right to help finance those that are opposing even more pollution developed in Alberta –that their own government can’t handle– in the normal “polluter pays format”?? Kenney has become a totally negative force in Alberta—like a blowing train horn—without the presents of a train!! Kenney like Klein before him has become a full time employee of the Petroleum industry!! The government have tried to explain the lack of industry actions to now get rid of the idle well problem since reports—like Imperial oil suggest their best quarter in 25 years!! Government forces suggest their is a need to study the issue for 9 months—or next spring- before attempts to begin cleaning up the messes that have existed for many many years!!

What’s to study– other than the bare facts that industry have a responsibility to put leases back to the condition they found them—but are flatly refusing to do so?? [With AER and politico blessings, enabled by synergy group extraordinaire ALDP?!]

Capital to undertake such work as before cannot anymore be used as an excuse since industries last report!! The industries unemployed work forces would be called back to work as would many service rigs and construction machinery to engage in putting a dint in the total mess allowed to accumulate since the last Klein Conservative government! Kenney and the UCP government have no intention of forcing the petroleum industry into any actions even although they are of course aware of their splendid financial situation—They are kicking the clean-up messes further down the road– with the silly suggestion that even though industry has the funds and unemployed staff —the service rigs- and construction machinery the 30 year old messes must be study by government before the responsible industry– would know how to safely abandon these wells, and restore the leases that we the public are forced to pay rent on until they are cleaned up??

Either this HORN BLOWING government have the balls to order the industry to work—helping greatly their service workers suffering unemployment or they don’t—studying the problem is totally unnecessary since industry has the experience to safely undertake these idle wells that have awaited industries endeavours for far and away too long!!

Governments sole chore in this process –should be to command a far greater amount of work by industry membership must be directed at idle wells—with indications that further refusals will bring other directives!!

My God this has carried on for long enough with industry sending their “sweet hearts” out to sell the idea – of the public paying the clean-up so industry can again buy back more of their public shares!!

Stewart Shields, Lacombe Alberta

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BNN Interviews Alberta Oil Patch Consultant Brent Nimeck on Lexin and AER’s Orphan Wells: “This problem is 30 years in the making. … I would call it a Ponzi Scheme…. This is an orchestrated fraud from multiple angles: Industry, CAPP and the Alberta Energy Regulator have enabled this to happen. … Through our independent analysis and we’ve confirmed this at multiple sources within the energy regulator, the liabilities are over $300 billion. That’s what’s on the hook for Alberta taxpayers right now – $300 billion.”

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Province set to review growing oilpatch liability issues by Chris Varcoe, Sept 10, 2019, Calgary Herald

The Alberta government is about to embark on two reviews that could have a profound impact on the province’s oil and gas industry.

One will look into the Alberta Energy Regulator.

The other one will examine liability management issues that stem from aging oil and natural gas wells, including an estimated 90,000 inactive wells scattered across the province.

As part of the study, a separate governance examination will be conducted, looking into issues such as the role of the board and chief executive, and the rules surrounding budgeting and spending.

Equally important are comments by Savage that the province will soon be conducting a separate liabilities management review surrounding energy development.

It’s a critical issue for Albertans, due to an increase in the number of orphan wells during the industry downtown, the potential price-tag to clean them up, and the impact of a recent court ruling.

Estimates of total industry liabilities — including remediating oilsands mines — have ranged all over the map, from a total of $58.6 billion from the AER itself to figures well in excess of that amount.

Whatever the number, it’s large.

“The first and foremost thing is we need actual information on the problem. We have so little transparency about what the scope of the problem is,” said Nikki Way of the Pembina Institute.

The province says both departments are working with the regulator to “develop options for managing liabilities for upstream oil and gas,” noting it will not include coal or oilsands mines.

However, it will examine “overhauling the liability management framework, including streamlining process…and, importantly, inventory reduction strategies,” said a statement from Alberta Environment.

“This could include requiring companies to move prescribed amounts of their inactive (well) inventories through closure within prescribed timeframes.”

The review is expected to be completed in early spring. [We don’t need another review, we know what the end game will be, and was always planned to be: Lie, lie a lot, lie a lot more, and hang ordinary Albertans with industry’s debts, liabilities, widespread toxic pollution, sink holes, quake damages, frac’d aquifers and blown to pieces community water towers.]

The examination comes after the failure of several petroleum producers, which has tossed thousands of inactive wells into the hands of the Alberta Orphan Well Association, an industry-funded group responsible for remediating facilities if no owner exists to pay the bill.

The review also comes after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this year in the case of bankrupt Redwater Energy Corp.

The court overturned an earlier Alberta ruling that said money from the sale of the company’s assets did not have to be used to reclaim its non-producing wells.

The top court disagreed. It upheld the polluter-pay principle — a wise decision — although government and industry officials say the change is now affecting the ability of some companies to access financing, as banks grow more cautious in their lending.

“We are having problems on both ends — inactive companies mean inactive wells. No financing means more inactive wells. So we are taking a look at that,” Savage said.

“We have committed to taking a look at the entire liability management framework….so we will be undertaking that (review) this fall, too.”

More than 450,000 oil and gas wells having been drilled across the province in the past century and Alberta currently doesn’t have a limit on how long a well can remain inactive. [Of course not! Industry will never allow their servants in politics to set one and AER = industry, so the “regulator” won’t either.]

The province needs to ensure wells are cleaned up, so landowners aren’t stuck with aging facilities and the financial tab doesn’t end up with taxpayers or other companies.

… Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said the transfer of risk on to banks due to the court ruling has stifled companies trying to access financing.

“We need to find and strike a middle ground here…and make sure we have a good grip cleaning up the environmental liability,” he said. “In the same sense, we need to recognize how the investment climate works.” [Translation, use extortion. If Albertans want jobs and no sales tax, make Albertans pay for it all, swallow the pollution and endless messes of abandoned junk on leases, and finance bad companies to make more pollution, junk, and walk from more rent payments and municipal taxes.]

Finding answers to these complex questions won’t be easy. But the job of government is to break apart tough issues and find practical solutions. [Oh, groan it on!!! Poor politico cry babies to have it so tough. Moaning Shysters! Solutions are super simple. What’s tough is that there exists not one politico in Canada with enough integrity, courage and stamina to implement them, simply: quit yaking, quit reviewing, start cleaning up.]

For Alberta and the energy sector, initiating a review — or two — is a sensible place to start. [Nope, reviews just enable the problems to not only continue, but escalate. The politicos know it, so does AER and the industry]

A few excellent solutions provided – free of charge – in this post:

ALDP a Synergy Group? Mark Dorin synergizing for the AER? Study not needed of the 100s of billions of dollars in oilfield liabilities. Complete overhaul of petroleum ownership and its structure is needed, and to send AER, Synergy groups, CAPP, CSUR etc packing!

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