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Of the roughly 450,000 oil and gas wells registered in Alberta, approximately 155,000 are no longer producing but not yet fully remediated. These wells impose potential risks and costs not borne by those who benefited during the productive phase. In a stress test, we estimate the potential social cost of well liabilities to be as high as $8 billion.
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Daniel Schwanen
Vice President, Research
THE STUDY IN BRIEF
The recent downturn in energy prices has shone a spotlight on the issue of cleaning up inactive oil and gas wells. In Alberta, mounting insolvencies have caused the number of "orphaned" wells - i.e., without a financially accountable owner - to balloon from fewer than 100 to 3,200 in the past five years. With low energy prices, that list of wells risks growing longer.
Of the roughly 450,000 wells registered in the province, approximately 155,000 are no longer producing but not yet fully remediated. These wells impose potential risks and costs not borne by those who benefited during the productive phase. These include the opportunity cost of taking up land that can't be used...