Funded primarily by industry, the OWA’s job is to close wells, facilities and pipelines that do not have a solvent and responsible owner to protect people and the environment, and remove the potential risk of unfunded liability. The OWA is an independent, non‐profit organization that operates under the delegated legal authority of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).
We are led by an independent Board of Directors with industry, regulatory and government representatives who oversee our operations, priorities and strategic planning.
The focus for the OWA is to stay on top of the inventory of orphans by leveraging our budget wisely. We focus on maximizing every dollar of our funding. After risk-assessing and prioritizing our inventory to ensure public safety and environmental protection, we look for opportunities to bundle projects regionally to maximize efficiencies.
We deploy contractors so that, wherever possible, they work on several projects in an area, approaching them as one larger initiative from a workforce and supply-chain view, regardless of the corporate holder of orphaned liabilities. Once high-risk sites are prioritized, we round out our plans with medium- and low-risk sites to maximize the efficiency of our operations.
This approach recognizes the increasing volume of work we must tackle and has allowed us to decommission more orphans year over year. To learn more, read our annual report.
A copy of the OWA Fact Sheet is available for a greater insights into OWA activities & accomplishments.
