AB: 2023/24 Orphan Fund Levy - LLR and OWL Programs |
Orphan fund levy invoices were emailed on April 4, 2023. If the licensee or approval holder has not received the invoice by April 4, 2023, they must contact OrphanLevy@aer.ca to request a copy.
Failure to pay the full invoiced amount by May 4, 2023, will result in a penalty of 20 per cent of the original invoiced amount.
This year’s orphan fund levy is based on the April 1, 2023, liability management rating assessment of the individual licensee and approval holder.
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AB: 2023/24 AER Administration Fees (Industry Levy) |
For 2023/24, the GoA-approved revenue is $217.4 million.
Invoices detailing the fee calculations were emailed on April 4, 2023, with payment due by May 4, 2023.
If you have not already signed up for electronic delivery, please forward your preferred corporate email address or addresses to AdminLevyReview@aer.ca. A generic email address is preferred to avoid changes because of staff turnover.
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AB: Invitation to Submit a Nomination to Close Inactive Wells & Facilities |
Effective April 3, 2023 the AER began accepting nominations from eligible individuals and groups to close inactive or abandoned oil and gas wells and facilities.
Eligible individuals and groups can nominate wells or facilities that have been inactive or abandoned for five or more years and meet certain criteria by submitting a closure nomination form to the AER. A separate form must be completed for each well or facility nominated. Section 4.3.1 of Manual 023: Licensee Lifecycle Management outlines eligibility criteria and licensee expectations. Information about accepted nominations, including closure plan information and the progress of closure activities, will be posted on a public dashboard.
Licensees of nominated wells and facilities will be notified at the beginning of the month following the nomination acceptance date. After April 19, 2023, licensees can access and submit information about the nominations through OneStop.
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AB: New Edition of Directive 007 and Manual 011 – Geothermal Amendments |
On March 27, 2023, the AER released a new edition of Directive 007: Volumetric and Infrastructure Requirements and Manual 011: How to Submit Volumetric Data to the AER as part of the geothermal regulatory framework implementation.
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AB: New Edition of Directive 065 |
AB: Policy Direction Concerning Unpaid Municipal Taxes |
On March 20, 2023, the AER received Ministerial Order 043/2023. Based on this document, the AER will develop and implement a process by April 30, 2023, that ensures applicants for a well licence or well licence transfer do not have unpaid municipal taxes above a yet-to-be-established threshold.
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AB: New edition of Directive 056 and Manual 012 |
1). March 9, 2023: As follow-up to the Financial Security and Site Closure Regulations in IRIS presentation given February 14, 2023, the presentation and frequently-asked-questions are now available.
2). March 10, 2023: As part of the IRIS 9.6 release, functionality was added to allow industry users to report additional wellbores that are drilled prior to rig release. This functionality is only for additional wellbores that will contribute to the production of the well and does not apply to ghostholes or sidetracks.
3). March 29, 2023: The ER has implemented a new Routine/Non-Routine Well Abandonment Application and accompanying Well Field Work Notifications functionality. When a Well Abandonment Application is classified as Routine, industry will be provided with an immediate, system-generated authorization.
Additional information can be found HERE
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BC: Review of methane emissions requirements |
On April 4, 2023, the BCER completed a review of methane regulatory requirements. As a result of the review, updates are being made to both the Drilling and Production Regulation (DPR) and the Oil and Gas Processing Facility Regulation (OGPFR).
These changes are effective Jan. 1, 2024 and allow permit holders time to update data collection and reporting systems, without impacting data submission for LDAR surveys completed in 2023.
Additional information can be found here: IU 2023-07
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BC: BC Energy Regulator – new name |
The BC regulator name changed from the BC Oil and Gas Commission to the British Columbia Energy Regulator to better align with its expanded role of regulating the life cycle of oil, gas and hydrogen industries within BC.
Additional information can be found here: IU 2023-04
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BC: Update to the application process (consultation with First Nations) |
As of March 7, 2023, the BCER made the following changes to the applications process to better support consultation with First Nations and align with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
The BCER now requires proponents to engage affected First Nations prior to application submission (pre-engagement) when planning energy resource activities on private or non-private land. A Pre-engagement Guidance Document has been made available to support and advise applicants on how to conduct meaningful and productive pre-engagement. To document pre-engagement, the BCER developed a Pre-engagement Record template document, as an example for energy resource applicants to use and submit.
The Project Description Form is a core component of applications submitted to the BCER; the form is being updated and expanded to allow operators to provide additional details about their proposed developments.
Additional information can be found here: TU2023-02
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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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Follow us on LinkedIn!
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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