AB: New Requirements for Licensees with Unpaid Municipal Property Taxes |
Effective May 1, 2023, and in accordance with Ministerial Order 043/2023, the AER requires evidence that licensees have resolved unpaid property taxes exceeding a threshold amount before a new well or well licence transfer application will be approved.
The initial threshold for the municipal tax arrears has been set at $20,000. If the applicant or transferee is listed, the applicant, transferor, or transferee must provide satisfactory evidence to the AER that arrears exceeding the threshold have been paid or an alternative repayment arrangement with the municipality or municipalities to which the arrears are owed has been made.
Additionally, for well transfer applications, if the transferor is listed, the applicant must provide evidence that payment of municipal taxes owing exceeding the threshold is a condition of the purchase and sale agreement with the transferee.
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AB: Reminder: Fees Dues May 4, 2023 |
2023/24 AER Administration Fees (Industry Levy)
Administration fee levies were emailed to every operator on April 4, 2023, payment in full of the original invoiced amount is required by May 4, 2023, to avoid an automatic notice of noncompliance and potential penalty.
2023/24 Orphan Fund Levy - LLR and OWL Programs
Orphan fund levy invoices were emailed to every operator April 4, 2023 and must be paid in full by the licensee or approval holder and received by the AER by May 4, 2023 payment in full of the original invoiced amount is required by May 4, 2023, to avoid an automatic notice of noncompliance and 20 per cent penalty.
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AB: Increased Monitoring of Pipeline and Oil and Gas Infrastructure |
The AER is aware of the release on April 21, 2023, of the movie “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”. Based on the book of the same name, the film promotes taking violent action against oil and gas infrastructure, particularly pipelines.
The release of this movie should not be taken lightly.
Operators and licensees should increase their level of awareness, review their security and emergency response protocols, and monitor this evolving situation in the event activists, inspired by the film, may turn to sabotage to get their message across.
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AB: New Functionality Moving to OneStop |
On April 20, 2023, the AER released new cancellation and objection functionality in OneStop’s public lands module.
If the AER initiates the process to cancel a public lands disposition, OneStop will notify the disposition holder of the pending cancellation. The holder can object to an AER-initiated cancellation by using the new Disposition Cancellation Objection submission type in OneStop.
Guidance on cancellations and objections will be added to Manual 018: OneStop Public Lands Application.
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AB: New Edition of Directive 067 |
In May, OneStop began accepting financial submissions under this directive (Schedule 3). This new edition complements this new functionality. Licensees and their parent corporations are now expected to submit financial statements and the financial summary through OneStop. Licensees should verify that the data has been received by checking OneStop before the deadlines specified in Directive 067.
In addition to notifying the AER if they are subject to insolvency proceedings, licensees must notify the AER immediately if they are ceasing their operations or initiate liquidation or dissolution proceedings.
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AB: New Edition of Directive 051 |
AB: Water (Ministerial) Regulation Amendment |
On April 28, 2023, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas announced an amendment to the Water (Ministerial) Regulation. Details will be available on the ministry’s water legislation and guidelines webpage.
Under specified conditions, stormwater diversions of less than 6250 cubic metres per year are now exempt from requiring a Water Act licence. This simplifies the regulation of water diversions for small volumes associated with stormwater runoff and supports achieving the goals of the Water Conservation Policy for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations. The exemption only applies to the diversion of water. All other regulatory requirements for the management, handling, and release of water continue to apply.
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April 18, 2023: The Saskatchewan Energy Regulator (SER) has an updated Logging Amendment Form available for download. It is advised that operators use the newest version to accompany the Logging Amendment Application.
Additional information can be found HERE
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SK: Updated version of Directive PNG076 in effect |
On April 5, 2023, an updated version of Directive PNG076: Enhanced Production Audit Program (EPAP) came into effect. The changes are minor in nature.
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BC: New interactive web maps (dormant and orphan sites and seismic events) |
The dormant sites web map builds off existing dormant sites data currently available on bc-er.ca website. It facilitates opportunities for industry and communities to collaborate when planning dormant site work and eliminates the need for users to manually add the existing spatial dormant sites data to a map view for viewing.
The new Northeast B.C. Seismicity Map displays recent and past seismic events of greater than local magnitude 1.5 that were recorded in the region. The map is updated frequently with the capability to filter and find events by date and/or location.
Additional information can be found here: IU 2023-08
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Are you planning to drill a new well? |
Benoit Regulatory is currently offering technical submission guidance for Directive 056, which is applicable for the construction or operation of facilities and wells.
In addition, we can prepare an H2S release rate report, determine surface casing depth, and submit post-drilling and well completion data, as well as tours and directional surveys.
Please let us know if you require any help in ensuring compliancy within our industry.
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Did you know that Benoit provides a service which covers our regulatory application, liability management ratio and evaluation services under one umbrella?
Under this program, Benoit acts as a “regulatory arm” for your company by receiving and responding to all compliance related matters on your company’s behalf.
As your regulatory designate, in addition to our regulatory application service, Benoit conducts a number of additional services including, but not limited to:
· Inactive Well Compliance Program Monitoring
· Liability Management Rating Forecasting
· DDS Entry for Well/Completion Details
· Flaring Notifications
· Well Test Data Submissions
· Gas Conservation Economic Analyses
· Monthly VRR calculations/updates for Enhanced Recovery Schemes
If you're interested in this service or would like to discuss this further, please contact us for more information.
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We post regulatory updates to our LinkedIn company page on a weekly basis. Follow us to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date information. To view and follow our company page, please click here.
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