Avoid Common Mistakes And Misconceptions About Alberta's Regulatory Process

Three energy regulator experts and former Alberta Energy Regulator senior employees are offering a course to help operators understand the new mandatory liability, closure and reclamation under Alberta’s Directive 88.

Course instructors – Alanda Allum, Rob Cruickshank and Mark Taylor – will walk through the evolving directive including the process for holistic assessment, the newly-introduced closure nomination process/dashboard, industry-wide closure spending targets and more.

The instructor-led course is live (via ZOOM) on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT. 

“The AER is getting more and more secretive and it’s getting hard to analyze the data within the directive and to understand it fully,” said Allum. “That’s why it’s good for people to attend this course. We have been following this process for the last 10 years. We are also working with companies through our contracting to help them navigate through this new process.”

The Alberta Energy Regulator is continuing to implement the Liability Management Framework including recently adding the closure nomination process/dashboard, an extension of the site rehabilitation program. Now “eligible requester(s)” with sites that have been in an inactive or abandoned state for five or more years can make a request to the AER to require the licensee to prepare a closure plan.

The team will also discuss the findings of Auditor General’s Report, released in March 2023 ­– where he concludes the AER’s liability management program has fundamental flaws.

Changes to the licensee profile within the Licensee Capability Assessment were also added.

“This is an evolving process that the AER expects will take years to fully implement,” said Allum. “It is important that companies are aware of the changes because it will impact how they do business on a go forward basis. Understanding how it can impact your business is ideal and knowing about it before you go into an A&D is also very important.”

The instructors will explain how stakeholders can avoid common mistakes and misconceptions about the regulatory process and how to maximize application approvals.

The AER assesses a licensee’s capabilities and performance across the entire development lifecycle from concept, construction, operation to closure of wells, well sites, pipelines and facility sites. Factors such as your company’s financial health and inventory of active and inactive wells and facilities will be considered when the AER makes its regulatory and licensing decisions.

After the course attendees will understand how the liability management program changes could impact their operations, the nuances needed to navigate through AER processes and how the changes contribute to reducing provincial oil and gas liabilities. Attendees will learn how to avoid common mistakes and misconceptions related to the regulatory process and gain a clear understanding of new regulatory requirements.

Get started today with the on-demand modules and be ready for the June 6 live session where the instructors will answer questions and elaborate on the directive.

Sign up today to receive one hour of free consulting with one of the three instructors before or after the live event. 

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