Reading Time: 5 minutes A federal cash injection of $1.7 billion will help clean up Alberta’s mess of orphan oil and gas wells. “We were already planning to have a very busy 2020, and this is going to help us continue doing the work that we’re doing,” said Lars De Pauw, executive director of the Orphan Well Association. The […] Read more
Orphan well cleanup gets $1.7 billion from Ottawa
Move to deal with long-standing problem welcomed but bid to use sites for solar arrays may get lost in shuffle
Landowners not on the hook for insolvent gas or oil companies
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Utilities Commission recently released a decision confirming its authority to order refunds for the electrification costs of oil and gas leases that were mistakenly billed to farmers. Last year, an electric utility was trying to collect payment from farmers for electricity supplied to an insolvent oil and gas company. Some landowners brought the […] Read more
Don’t be fooled by false promises
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Farmers’ Advocate Office is hearing concerns about negotiation practices on utility projects, transmission lines, and pipelines. “One of the frustrations we’ve been hearing from landowners is that some have been given the impression that the company will come back and ‘top off’ compensation if another landowner along the same route negotiates at a higher […] Read more
Province preparing surface rights maps
Online maps will link to actual agreements
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) is currently collecting surface lease, transmission line, seismic, and pipeline right-of-way agreements from landowners for the Surface Rights, Land, and Energy: Pricing Transparency Mapping Project. “There is currently no central repository where this type of information is compiled and accessible to landowners,” said Jeana Les, research and communications specialist for […] Read more
Oilpatch’s pain could be agriculture’s gain as layoffs mount
Thousands of energy and construction workers will be looking for jobs, but agricultural employers need to attract them
Reading Time: 4 minutes The layoffs have already started in Alberta’s energy sector — but many more are on the way, say experts. “We’re estimating somewhere in the range of $12 billion less investment taking place,” said Michael Burt, director of industrial economic trends with the Conference Board of Canada. “That’s going to translate into thousands of fewer jobs […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
