Staggering, "mind-blowing" numbers emerge from a "flawed" regulator system in Alberta's oilpatch. The private estimates are now in the public realm following our joint investigation with @CJarvisGlobal @DavidBruser & @EmmaMci tinyurl.com/y866gb66 via @NatObserver #oilsands
“Even though we have known these programs were flawed, there has been no proactive change to the liability programs,” said the AER VP Robert Wadsworth in the newly-released presentation.
He said the $260 billion in estimated liabilities is “likely less than the actual cost.”
“We must ensure that the costs of these liabilities is retained by industry and not passed on to Albertans,” he said in the presentation.
The documents also show that the number of inactive wells in Alberta is increasing, as well as the number of licensees with questionable financial means to cover closing costs.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers was strangely silent on a number of questions we asked them, including whether they thought industry was doing a good job managing these liabilities.
It’s also interesting to note that while @OilGasCanada and @EnergyCitizens like to say that Canada has some of the highest standards in the world, the AER presentation describes the situation in Alberta as “flawed.”
The presentation notes that jurisdictions like Texas and New Mexico have higher standards.
I was quite surprised that the office of @jkenney declined an offer from Global News to review the documents and comment on them. Should someone who wants to be premier take time to review evidence and develop policies based on that evidence?
Also interesting to note how some experts warn these numbers could have implications for Alberta’s balance sheet and credit rating, as well as raising questions about the financial health of industry.
It was a pleasure work with @CJarvisGlobal @DavidBruser & @EmmaMci on this investigation. They all did an incredible amount of work on an extremely tight deadline to serve the public and get news that matters out to a wide audience. Thank you!
Make that @Energy_Citizens
Some additional background from this piece by @RKBtoo published last year. nationalobserver.com/2017/04/03/ana…
And our special report from @NatObserver on Alberta’s “legacy of liabilities.” nationalobserver.com/legacyoil
And for some additional background, here’s the story behind the story about how we got these documents.
