Latest news with #EnergyRegulator
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Alberta oil levy too low to cover orphan well costs, report claims
A new report is warning the annual levy charged to Alberta oil companies to fund the cleanup of orphaned oil and gas wells remains too low to keep up with the rate of surrendering. The report, written by former University of Calgary Public Interest Law Clinic lawyer Drew Yewchuk, says this year's levy rate combined with low rates in previous years is leading to an estimated funding shortfall of $1.2-billion. The levy funds the Orphan Well Association, a non-profit entity overseen by industry and regulator officials and tasked with reclaiming wells that are orphaned when oil and gas companies go bankrupt. The association says it currently has more than 3,700 wells on its books that need to be decommissioned and reclaimed, which could cost more than $860-million. Yewchuk's report says the $144-million in levies the Alberta Energy Regulator recently approved to be collected this fiscal year continues the trend of underfunding for the Orphan Well Association. Since the association will also need to repay more than $300-million in federal and provincial government loans over the next 10 years, Yewchuk says Alberta's orphan well situation will only get further out of hand. A spokesperson for the energy regulator says it hasn't seen the report and was unable to comment on it.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alberta Energy Regulator penalizes Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. for contraventions
CALGARY, AB, May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has issued an administrative penalty to Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. for contravening the Oil and Gas Conservation Rules. A copy of the decision is on the AER's Compliance Dashboard. Following an investigation by the AER, it was determined that between May 11, 2022, and August 8, 2022, at Tamarack's facilities near Jarvie, Alta., Tamarack contravened section 12.030(2) of the Oil and Gas Conservation Rules. The company failed to keep original recordings of production measurements, which are essential to verify production data and for accurate volumetric reporting. Consequently, a $25 500 administrative penalty was imposed on Tamarack. An administrative penalty is one of many compliance and enforcement tools the AER can use when companies do not comply with the regulatory requirements. For more information on the AER's investigation enforcement processes, please see the Investigations webpage on the Alberta Energy Regulator The AER provides for the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of energy and mineral resources in Alberta through our regulatory activities. For more information visit Contact Email: media@ | Media line: 1-855-474-6356 Connect with AER X | LinkedIn| Facebook CONTACT: AER Media Alberta Energy Regulator 1-855-297-474-6356 media@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
How will power price hikes affect your bills?
Australia's energy regulators have confirmed an increase of up to 9.7 per cent in electricity prices.
Epoch Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Alberta Premier Smith Asks Federal Environment Minister to ‘Disavow' Guilbeault's Comments on Pipelines
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reacted to federal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault's comments about Canada not needing new pipelines, a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney said they could be built if there is a consensus. Before the first meeting of the new federal cabinet on May 14, Guilbeault said there is no reason to build new pipelines if the government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline is only operating at 40 percent capacity. He added global demand for oil is estimated to peak by 2028–2029. Later that day, Smith issued a Smith said these types of comments by Guilbeault were an example of how he had been an obstacle to Alberta during his tenure as environment minister. Guilbeault was shuffled out of the role by Carney in March and put in charge of the Canadian heritage portfolio. 'We ask for the new environment minister [Julie Dabrusin] to disavow his comments and commit to working with Alberta to build new pipelines to access new markets,' Smith said. Canada Energy Regulator Related Stories 5/14/2025 5/14/2025 The latest spat between Smith and Guilbeault comes after a federal election campaign heavily focused on strengthening Canada's economy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Carney has pledged to speed up the approval of major projects, and said Canada needed to develop more projects for 'clean and conventional energy.' Canada's most valuable export is crude oil and most of the production flows south to the United States. There is also no pipeline connecting Alberta and Eastern provinces, which are dependent on U.S. operators. Carney made his most favourable Asked by reporters about the matter before the cabinet meeting, Guilbeault pushed back. 'People should remember that we bought a pipeline, Trans Mountain, and that is only used right now at about 40 percent capacity,' he said. 'So I think before we start talking about building an entire new pipeline, maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure.' Guilbeault also said there are no investors to build an East-West pipeline. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during the election campaign there is no investor because of federal laws like the Impact Assessment Act (formerly known as Bill C-69) that make it difficult to build major infrastructure. Carney told CTV News he's open to making changes to the Impact Assessment Act, to help move projects ahead. He has however insisted that his government will maintain the legislation, despite objection by Premier Smith. Guilbeault wasn't as committed to making changes to the law, saying 'these are important conversations that we will need to have in the coming weeks.' Taking over the environment portfolio in Carney's new cabinet is Toronto MP Julie Dabrusin. She had no immediate public comment and The Epoch Times reached out to her department but didn't immediately hear back. Dabrusin had served as a parliamentary secretary to Guilbeault in previous years. Guilbeault noted her work in fighting 'big polluters' at his side in a Smith's reaction to Guilbeault came a few days after she Smith said the carbon price for businesses has become 'too high to bear' and is negatively impacting competitiveness at a time of heightened economic uncertainty. Environment Canada reacted by saying that when a province makes a significant change to its system, the federal government has to reassess the 'stringency of that system against benchmark standards.' Alberta's premier had sparred with Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau, over policies impacting the province, and she 'Albertans are proud Canadians that want this nation to be strong, prosperous, and united, but we will no longer tolerate having our industries threatened and our resources landlocked by Ottawa,' she said. Smith Carney responded to Smith's post by saying the two leaders are 'focused on bringing down the cost of living and increasing opportunities in the energy sector for hard working Albertans.' Carolina Avendano contributed to this report.
CTV News
06-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Coal company lobbying Alberta government for lenient definition of open pit mine
As the provincial government finalizes details of new rules for coal mining in Alberta's mountains and foothills, one company is asking officials to pick a definition of open pit mining that won't interfere with its mining practices. In December, Alberta's United Conservative Party government announced it will permit coal mining and exploration in previously off-limits areas along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, but said the policy framework developed through its Coal Industry Modernization Initiative (CIMI) would ban new open pit mines and mountaintop removal coal mining. Westmoreland Mining LLC, which owns and operates the 20,660-hectare Coal Valley Mine in the foothills near Edson is lobbying Alberta Energy and Minerals and the province's energy regulator on 'CIMI and possible definitions of open pit mining,' according to lobbying records filed on Feb. 10. 'The intention is to maintain the definition to fit [the company's] current Coal Valley activities as well as new development of resources in the same area to ensure those activities can continue under the new rules,' Westmoreland said in the filing. Westmoreland did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the time of publication. Though the terms 'open pit' and 'mountaintop removal' may evoke clear images of sprawling quarries and flattened peaks, the legal definitions are more ambiguous, making implementation and enforcement of the proposed ban 'problematic,' said Brenda Heelan Powell, staff counsel at the Environmental Law Centre. 'If you say there's no mountaintop removal or there's no open pit mines, but don't have a clear, coherent definition of what you mean by those things and don't set out really clear boundaries on what those things are, then it's very difficult to know whether or not your prohibition is being ignored or not,' Powell said. The Coal Conservation Act governs development of coal resources in Alberta and guides everything from project approval and mineral transport to pollution control and environmental conservation. Powell noted the distinction in the act between an 'open pit' mine, which would be prohibited under CIMI, and a 'strip mine', which would be permitted, comes down to terrain rather than mining practice or project size. 'I think there may be sort of general conceptions of what these things mean, and it might not be where the legal definitions ultimately land,' she said. The act defines an open pit mine as a mine 'worked by removal of overlying strata and subsequent excavation of exposed coal in terrain that is not flat or substantially flat,' and a strip mine as one 'worked by removal of overlying strata and subsequent excavation of exposed coal in flat or substantially flat terrain.' The act gives no definition of mountaintop removal mining. 'There might be this idea that if you ban open pit mining, that means there's not going to be the same level of surface disturbance, because that'll move everything underground. But I don't think that's technically correct with the definitions we have today,' Powell said. The final decision on whether or not a regulation applies to a project is made by the Alberta Energy Regulator. Powell also said she is concerned the government is only consulting with industry stakeholders in the final stages of developing its new coal rules rather than a broader public consultation. Managing coal policy debate Nigel Bankes, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Calgary, said he has followed the coal file closely over the last four years, but didn't really become aware of these 'definitional issues' until the CIMI announcements in December and January. 'Perhaps that itself is significant in terms of the government's efforts to manage the debate,' Bankes said. 'I think that the new definitional debate also speaks to a significant divide that we see between the provincial government, which is trying to accommodate foreign coal interests and the coalition of interests opposed to coal. The latter group just wants a commitment to no new coal, in whatever form. For this coalition of interests the definitions are an irrelevant distraction from the main issue.' A spokesperson for Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean's office said in a statement Alberta's government is 'engaging with industry on the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative and these meetings are ongoing. 'Through our coal mining modernization, we are banning new open pit mines in the foothills and Rockies, and prohibiting mountaintop removal mining, all while prioritizing the protection of our waterways and environment.' Proposed coal policy changes and updated legislation are expected to be finalized by the end of 2025. Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation
