Before you consider adopting an orphan well, what do you need to know? Here you will find links to just a few of the resources, news articles, and information available about orphan wells and related issues. Orphan well sites in what is colonially named and defined as Alberta may be located on private land, crown land, First Nation reserves, and Métis homelands. However, all of “Canada” is stolen Indigenous land. Please familiarize yourself with the treaties and Indigenous territories where your prospective wells are located and reflect on how this information impacts your responsibilities as an orphan well caretaker. We hope this can be a starting point on your journey and encourage you to continue to seek out more resources and information. If you have a suggestion or a resource for this page, please contact us.
Resources
Orphan Well Association Inventory
Closure: Abandonment, Remediation and Reclamation Fact Sheet Alberta Energy Regulator (2014)
List of Defunct Companies Orphan Well Association (2019, needs updating)
Liabilities Resources for Landowners Pembina Institute
Crown Land The Canadian Encyclopedia (2011)
Mineral Ownership Alberta Government
Number of Licensed Wells in Each Stage of the Life Cycle Alberta Energy Regulator
Inactive Well License List Alberta Energy Regulator, click “self service” to download a free Excel spreadsheet. Note: see the second tab in the spreadsheet for Forecasted Inactive Wells.
Active Well Licenses Report Alberta Energy Regulator (available upon request; payment required)
Grading the AER Liability Management Performance Report Shaun Fluker, Drew Ywechuk, and Martin Olszynski. (2024) Spoiler alert: it gets an “F” grade.
A Made-in-Alberta Failure: Unfunded Oil and Gas Closure Liability Drew Yewchuk, Shaun Fluker, Martin Olszynski. (2023)
Estimated Cost of Cleaning Canada’s Orphan Oil and Gas Wells Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (2021)
Crude #4 – Orphaned Wells: Citizen Con Canadaland Podcast (2019)
Orphaned Documentary by Gillian McKercher/Kino Sum Productions (2021), stream for free on CBC Gem
Cultures of Energy Podcast Center for Energy & Environmental Research at Rice University hosted by Cymene Howe and Dominic Boyer
Articles
Critics call for review after study suggests Alberta Energy Regulator underestimated oil well liability CBC News (2024)
Internal documents suggest Alberta Energy Regulator underestimated oil well liability CTV News (2024)
Calgary energy company told to abandon hundreds of wells after ongoing care problems CBC (2024)
Alberta to relax rule on buying abandoned oil and gas wells when municipal taxes remain unpaid CBC (2024)
There’s new data on Alberta’s massive oil and gas cleanup problem. Here’s what you need to know The Narwhal (2024)
Here’s how deep Canada’s orphan well problem runs CTV News (2023)
$1 Billion orphaned oil and gas cleanup bill estimate leaves out ‘most expensive part,’ critics say CBC News (2023)
Two Canadian Oil Giants benefitted big from federal cleanup subsidies The Narwhal (2023)
Alberta to pilot oil and gas royalty breaks for legally required well cleanup GlobalTV (2023)
Alberta Energy Regulator stands in the way of orphan well clean up: report (2023)
Confusion, lack of clarity dog Alberta plans to clean up old well sites (2023)
Alberta may have to return $130M in unspent federal funding for oil and gas well cleanup (2023)
What Led to Alberta’s Abandoned Wells Mess? The Tyee (2023)
Reclaiming orphan wells with clean energy National Observer (2023)
As Alberta landowners struggle with orphan wells, documents show regulator anxious about gaps in system Narwal & CTV News (2023)
Fewer oilpatch companies going bust could spell relief for Alberta’s orphan well woes CBC (2023)
Canada is Fake The Outline (2020)
An Annotated Guide to the (Mal)Interpretation of Confederation Era Treaties in Canada Yellowhead Institute (2020)
Alberta Government Passes Bill 12, Liabilities Management Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 – What You Need to Know McMillan LLP (2020)
Ottawa Paying Clean-up Alberta’s Inactive Wells. Are the Oilsands Next? The Narwhal (2020)
‘Zombie’ oil wells in Canada are a climate threat New York Times (2020)
11 things you need to know as Trudeau announces $1.7 billion to clean up ‘festering’ orphan and inactive wells The Narwhal (2020)
Unpaid Taxes Owed from Oil and Gas Companies to Rural Municipalities Rural Municipalities of Alberta (2020)
Land Back: A Yellowhead Institute Red Paper Yellowhead Institute (2019)
Oil and Gas Companies Owe Albertans 20 Million in Unpaid Land Rents The Narwhal (2019)
Orphan Oil and Gas Wells Raise Contamination Fears on Northeast BC farmland The Globe and Mail (2019)
Investigation finds misuse of funds, scant oversight at Alberta Energy Regulator Global News (2019)
Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thorton Ltd. Supreme Court of Canada Case Summary (2019)
Supreme Court rules energy companies must clean up old wells — even in bankruptcy CBC News (2019)
What the Redwater ruling means for Alberta’s thousands of inactive oil and gas wells The Narwhal (2019)
The catch-22 of the Redwater case Pembina Institute (2018)
Canadians Should Be on Red Alert over Alberta Redwater Energy Case The Leap (2018)
Alberta failing on Risk from Leaking Oil Gas Wells, Says Expert The Tyee (2017)
Lexin Resources and the dark side of Alberta’s downturn CBC News (2017)
Energy Industry Legacy: Hundreds of Abandoned Wells Leaking Methane in Alberta Communities The Tyee (2017)
Critics say abandoned Alberta oil wells pose environmental risk CTV News (2015)
INTERACTIVE: The hidden cost of abandoned oil and gas wells in Alberta Global News (2015)
Orphan Well Adoption Agency 