Reading Time: 4 minutes Co-owners Mark Dorin and Dale Braun set up a wooden barrier to keep MAGA Energy staff off their property after regulator inaction.
Alberta landowners block oil company after three years of unpaid rent
Mark Dorin and Dale Braun set up a wooden barrier to prevent MAGA Energy staff from accessing active wells on their 103-acre property
Farmers, oil drillers in parched Alberta brace for water shortage
Drought could cause double-digit declines in Alberta's wheat yields, data suggests
Drought in Alberta is stretching into its fourth year and farmers and oil companies are planning for water restrictions that threaten production of wheat, beef and crude.
Alberta to ban renewables projects on prime agricultural land
Rules could create a backdoor land ban, analyst says
Alberta will ban renewable power projects on prime agricultural land and erect buffer zones to ensure wind turbines do not spoil scenic views, the provincial government said on Wednesday.
Western Canada’s dry winter heralds worsening drought for 2024
Oil and gas, hydro, forestry, sports affected alongside agriculture
Canada's abnormally dry winter is worsening drought conditions across the western provinces, where most of the country's oil, gas, forest products and grain are produced.
Cleanup of orphan wells in the province is ramping up
The Orphan Well Association has picked up the pace when it comes to decommissioning wells
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s orphan well problem hasn’t gone away — but it’s got a whole lot better than it was. “We are going at a high pace of activity for this last year,” said Lars DePauw, executive director of the Orphan Well Association. “We’re probably the most active organization in the closure space in Western Canada, including […] Read more
Alberta gives oil and gas drillers municipal tax break
Reuters — Struggling oil and gas companies in Alberta will get a three-year break on municipal property taxes for land where they are drilling wells or building pipelines, the provincial government said on Monday. The Alberta government said it would also lower property tax assessments on less-productive wells and eliminate a provincial tax on drills. […] Read more
Lots of applications on orphan wells, but few boots on the ground
Abandoned well program inundated with applications but approvals slow in coming
Reading Time: 5 minutes Progress has been slow, but Alberta farmers should soon see work being done to remove abandoned oil and gas wells. In May, Ottawa put up $1.72 billion to clean up orphan or inactive oil and gas wells, pipelines and facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C., with Alberta using its $1-billion share to create the Site […] Read more
Pilot project to convert old oil and gas wells gets green light
Reusing roads and power lines from abandoned wells could make Alberta a renewable energy leader
Reading Time: 2 minutes A pilot project to convert abandoned oil and gas sites in southern Alberta to renewable power generation has been given the green light and more than $4 million in funding to make it happen. “So far, nobody has actually used abandoned oil and gas infrastructure for solar deployment,” said Keith Hirsche, who is heading up […] Read more
Be prepared when negotiating with oil and gas companies
Understand the process and gather all the evidence you can to support your claim, says expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the game of getting compensation for surface rights, oil and gas companies hold most of the cards. “I would liken it to a good poker game where you only get the low cards,” said Graham Gilchrist, owner of Gilchrist Consulting in Leduc. “Sure, you could get a straight with a whole bunch of aces […] Read more
Will you be on the hook for abandoned gas and oil wells?
Rural property owners will be ‘significantly’ impacted by $173 million in unpaid taxes, say municipalities
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rural Albertans could be on the hook for a growing number of orphaned and abandoned wells and tens of millions in back taxes owed by struggling oil and gas companies. “This is not the first year we’ve had companies choosing not to pay their taxes, and it is escalating,” said Al Kemmere, president of the […] Read more