Operations & Industries

Take an Orphan License

Although the OWA closes orphan wells, facilities and pipelines, licenses stay in the name of the defunct licensee. This means the OWA does not have the ability to sell or transfer orphan assets. If an operator wants to take an orphan asset, they must apply to the AER to transfer the license in a process called a Regulator Directed Transfer or RDT.

WIC Types and Eligibility

Activity:

Suspension

WIC Eligibility:

Ineligible unless extenuating circumstances exist including:
1. SCVF/GM repairs have been made and are actively monitored.
2. There are high carrying costs and the non-defaulting WIP has a low working interest percentage.

Additional Required Documentation:

Daily Operation Reports

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Activity:

Abandonment

WIC Eligibility:

Includes downhole abandonment and surface cut and cap/decommissioning activities.

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Additional Required Documentation:

Daily Operation Reports

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Activity:

Remediation

WIC Eligibility:

Well or facility remedial and earthwork activities (delineating/confirmatory sampling, soil replacement, recontouring)

Remediation must be completed

Additional Required Documentation:

Record of Site Condition with Contamination Review for Reclamation Intent and Submission Status “Accepted” or Remediation Certificate number.

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Additional Environmental Site Assessments must be available upon request

Activity:

Reclamation

WIC Eligibility:

Well or facility reclamation activities (seeding, vegetation monitoring)

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Additional Required Documentation:

Reclamation Certificate number

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Additional Environmental Site Assessments must be available upon request

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Activity:

RCAM

WIC Eligibility:

Other costs that do not pertain to the above activities may be eligible as reasonable care and measures associated with AER RCAM Order or other direction

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Additional Required Documentation:

AER Order and/or other AER direction

Activity:

Overhead

WIC Eligibility:

“Overhead” reimbursement is eligible for all Cost Claim activities conducted on or after April 1, 2021. For clarity, overhead includes internal costs such as technical oversight in the office/field and auxiliary costs, such as accounting, payroll, filing, budgets, AFE preparation, human resources, safety, communication and office costs. Therefore, overhead reimbursement will not be eligible for operational work contracted out to a third party.

Overhead reimbursement has been aligned with the OWA’s Working Interest Participant Agreement (WIPA) program and is set at a flat rate of 2.5%. WIPs who are seeking overhead reimbursement can apply these costs directly on the excel summary sheet on a per-license basis. Costs shared with another well or site that is not subject to the cost reimbursement application is not reimbursable unless the proportional cost related to the claim is clearly identifiable on the invoice and ticket

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Additional Required Documentation:

Initiating an RDT

Email the OWA at RDT@orphanwell.ca with the licenses you wish to acquire. The OWA will then notify the AER and place our planned closure work on hold for up to six months while the RDT application process is underway. If the RDT application has not been submitted in six months, the license(s) will be returned to the decommissioning queue without further notice to the applicant.

The AER will follow up with the applicant with the required RDT application documents.

The AER License Details Report includes site-specific technical details about eligible wells. There are multiple events for individual wells in order to report production and, therefore, there are more entries than the number of wells. This list does not necessarily reflect the current inventory of orphan wells held by the OWA, and users are responsible for confirming any information used. For specific site details about eligible wells, see the AER License Details Report. For any further inquiries about the information in this report, contact the AER at liabilitymanagement@aer.ca.

There are no sales at this time.

What is an RDT?

An RDT is a Regulator Directed Transfer. It happens when the Alberta Energy AER transfers a license from a defunct licensee to an eligible licensee.

Can I review all the files associated with a site?

In some cases, but not all, the OWA has files with technical information that can be shared. Under no circumstance will the OWA share information with an applicant related to the surface owner, such as the previous surface lease.

Please contact info@orphanwell.ca to determine what files the OWA has available

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Are the mineral and surface leases attached to an orphan asset/license?

No, mineral and surface leases associated with the license are not transferred to the OWA. Proponents must obtain both a mineral and surface lease prior to any RDT application.

Is there a fee attached to RDT?

There is an RDT fee of up to $10,000 for each well that the AER may apply at its discretion. One factor in determining this fee is the OWA’s incurred costs on the asset before the RDT application was made.