A Working Interest Claim (WIC) is a cost claim submitted to the AER for a defaulting Working Interest Participant’s (WIP) share of incurred costs as per s. 70(2)(b) of the Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA). These costs, which include suspension, abandonment, remediation, reclamation, and reasonable care and measures (RCAM) costs, are eligible for reimbursement from the Orphan Fund based on the working interest percentage held by the defaulting WIP. For WIPs that cannot be deemed as defaulting as per s. 70(2)(b) of the OGCA, please see the AER’s webpage on s. 30 applications for eligibility and requirements.

‍

Before closing a site, we encourage WIPs to consider a Working Interest Partner Agreement (WIPA) with the OWA. WIPAs have many benefits, including removing the need for the working interest participant to initially pay 100 per cent of the closure costs and leverages the large programs undertaken by the OWA to reduce overall costs.