Dozens of Calgarians gathered Wednesday to call on the province to step up environmental protections and take proper action to address the growing costs of abandoned oil and gas wells. The event was organized by the Coalition for Responsible Energy but also included speakers from other environmental and landowner rights groups. In March, CTV News obtained the government’s Alberta Mature Asset Strategy confidential draft report. The 71-page report detailed recommendations to the government to achieve shared goals “to maximize value, manage risk and ensure the long-term viability of Alberta’s energy sector.” But the strategy has drawn concerns that the financial burden for cleaning up inactive wells could shift from industry to taxpayers. “We want to draw this line and show people that the provincial government is choosing to put energy companies above the interests of Albertans,” said Phillip Meinzter with the Coalition for Responsible Energy. Inventory growing, reclamation slowing According to Orphan Well Association (OWA) data released in this past spring, there are currently 4,737 sites in Alberta scheduled for decommissioning, a figure that includes 3,955 wells. There are also 8,200 sites in need of reclamation. The OWA says Alberta’s reclamation inventory has been steadily increasing since 2016/17. “The total number of orphan wells in the OWA inventory to be decommissioned increased 97 per cent to 3,388 at the end of 2024/25, from 1,719 the year before. Of the 1,965 new wells designated as orphans by the AER, from 170 the year before, nearly 1,800 wells were due to Sequoia Resource’s insolvency process in early 2025.” The agency says the rate at which sites are being reclaimed is slowing down “due to the more complex nature of projects.” “(Those) required more resources and time to complete, after years of clearing more straightforward projects from our inventory,” OWA said. “Next fiscal year we will again focus on decommissioning a significant number of less complex wells, mostly those licensed to Sequoia Resources on private land.” It added that the number of fully closed sites - those that had received a reclamation certificate and is again available for all uses - increased by 22 per cent in 2024/25. The OWA says 758 sites were fully reclaimed. “This closure number represents 13.78 square kilometres of land returned to Albertans, nearly as large as Devon, Alberta, today home to a research hub focused on reducing the environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry.” Group also against coal development The group also opposes the province’s pitch to replace the coal moratorium in the Rocky Mountains. In 2020, the province ended a moratorium opening the eastern slopes to potential development. After public pushback, the policy was reversed, and work started on a new plan. In 2024, the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative (CIMI) was introduced, which sets out rules to “guide responsible coal mining practices” while also increasing royalties to Albertans. The CIMI bans mountaintop removal as a technique, prevents all new open-pit coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rockies and will not consider any coal mining proposals that have not explored the best water practices first.
