Alberta’s energy regulator has transferred control of thousands of oil and gas wells and other facilities held by a troubled Calgary company to the group that’s responsible for cleaning up poorly maintained or abandoned sites.
This happens far too often. Usually on a smaller scale that doesn’t get much media attention but oil and gas companies here seem to almost plan to eventually go bankrupt, abadon the wells and pipelines, and now it’s somebody elses problem to fix while they run off with a slap on the wrist compared to what they earned. There are over 80,000 abandoned wells and another 80,000 inactive (so likely to be abandoned eventually) in Alberta alone. The good news is they make oil & gas companies pay for the cleanup funding yearly but it’s not enough if you ask me.
The lack of suitable bonds to cover cleanup seems to be a regulatory thing.
That seems to be missed, or isn’t adequate to cover the costs.
