More on Alberta's growing orphan well crisis: "Alberta Landowners Mad as H*ll About No Pipeline Reclamations" www.youtube.com/watch?v=49_0... @markhamhislop.bsky.social @markdorin.bsky.social @energimedia.bsky.social #ABLeg #ABPoli #CDNPoli
Perfect. Time. To. Top. Up. Alberta’s. Orphan. Fund. Levy.
💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
It’s short by at least $1.6 billion. Industry can afford it and it’s the law.
Taxpayers can’t afford not to insist on it.
www.reuters.com/business/ene...
Bankes and Tienhaara provide great coverage of both the specific local question of Northback's Grassy Mountain lawsuit against Canada, and a general summary of the problem with Investor-state Dispute Settlement processes. Albertans should be aware of both.
A Substack about the huge problem of Alberta pipeline right-of-ways not being cleaned up with full use of the land not being returned to the registered landowner certified as reclaimed. This applies to all pipelines not just those without a licensee.
share.google/ih32anlOGPxfOO…
The Bulletin announcement should read that CONTRARY to Part 11 of the Oil and Gas Conservation Act the AER announces a grossly insufficient orphan fund levy.
Thanks. Valente is correct.
At Alberta Surface Rights Federation, issues of Land and Property Rights Tribunal members salary, quantity of decisions and impartiality arose.
Govt. Rep Vitor Marciano announced the Tribunal will be remade in a controversial fashion.
Supreme Court guidance:
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-cs…
Image of Alberta's Premier in front of an image of money with text reading: "Oil & gas corporations in Alberta are raking in record profits. The government wants YOU to pay to clean up their mess."
Tell your MLA to stop the government’s billion dollar giveaway to the oil and gas industry and say no to the Mature Asset Strategy.
albertatalks.ca/no-mas/
See you there!
Let’s count the ways we are subsidizing a broke Alberta conventional oil industry.
1. Don’t have to pay municipal tax.
2. Citizens pay landowners for them.
3. C-Star royalty holiday (free oil) until well drilling and fracking costs recovered.
4. (Add by comment)
www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/alb...
Received help from friends last week including @ryanjespersen.bsky.social to bring attention to the fact that oil companies are trespassing - illegally using lands they don’t own to produce mere drops of oil. Turns out the well site this rig is on probably isn’t leased either.
Where’s the AER?
Problems related to deadbeat oil and gas companies result many from the fact that, contrary to what some say, we don’t have a “world class regulator” administering Alberta oil and gas / coal laws.
I’ve had enough of deadbeat oil companies, Alberta Energy Minister chirping me and his wayward Alberta Energy Regulator
youtu.be/QMo1a9huZCo?...
We need Alberta Energy Regularly reform. Appointing puppets like David Yager to its board of directors &?calling him an expert (he has no regulatory or admin law background) isn’t going to do it. We have to face up to the fact that Alberta’s premier supports illegal oil & gas over land rights.
When I terminated the right for an “oil company” to unsafely & illegally operate on Edmonton land, Alberta’s Energy Minister said we should apply to Land & Property Rights Tribunal for “recovery of rental”.
Here’s the $ you’ve 🫵 paid landowners for deadbeat operators under Tribunal directions ⬇️.
Attending the first meeting of 2026 for the Warburg-Pembina Surface Rights Group tonight. Landowner representative Mark Dorin is presenting on: "Land Rights: Do Alberta Government Agencies Support Law Abiding Landowners or Law Breaking Oil Companies?" @markdorin.bsky.social #ABLeg #ABPoli 🧵 [1/N]
Two days on from going public with this action there are virtually no negative comments.
The public is simply not behind Minister @BrianJeanAB’s inexplicable support of illegal, unsafe oil and gas not paying its way.
nationalpost.com/video/835e6d...
Mark Dorin's message for the Alberta Energy Regulator: “Do your damn job – or landowners are going to take action and protect themselves.”
drillanddash.substack.com/p/get-the-he... @cuym-alberta.bsky.social @markdorin.bsky.social #ABLeg #ABPoli #CDNPoli
“Let’s have a reclamation boom”!
Who said that?
For geeks or reporters the link to the legislation is canlii.ca/t/827r#sec36
The decision citation is Singh v MAGA Energy Ltd., 2025 ABLPRT 909246 (CanLII), canlii.ca/t/kh674
Let’s ask for better oil & gas decision making. It’s not too much to ask for is it?
6/finish
3. Ordered the Minister to pay an incorrect amount to the landowner (multiple adding errors, typos, and other mistakes).
The entire case and underlying decisions are a terrible mess.
The Minister being ordered to pay is now Hon. Grant Hunter, Environment and Protected Areas.
5/6
I just reviewed a public decision where the LPRT:
1. Looked up and made a flawed decision based on the wrong well licence.
2. Ordered the Minister in error to pay the landowner with our money instead of demanding payment from a viable working interest participant.
4/6
There’s a legislated process: The LPRT must (a) demand payment from the delinquent oil company, & the company must fail to prove payment was made; and (b) ensure there is no other “working interest participant” liable to pay before ordering the Minister to pay a landowner.
3/6
The overloaded LPRT takes months to process thousands of landowner applications filed yearly to recover overdue annual compensation. Last year government was ordered by the LPRT to pay $30 million to landowners. $40 million so far this year.
Some pay orders are flawed
2/6
When an oil company fails to pay a landowner in Alberta, the landowner can apply to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT) under the Surface Rights Act (S. 36) for recovery of overdue amounts including from from govt (your $).
What could go wrong?
Lots. Read on.
1/6
Five years ago today I posted this. It’s still relevant.
It will take more than a report called Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy to tackle the massive problem of hundreds of insolvent oil companies holding over 35,000 well, facility, and pipeline licenses.
Where’s the Regulator?
www.lakelandtoday.ca/the-latest/s....
I applaud this from Alberta’s chief justices. 👏
The principles they remind us of also apply to quasi-judicial decision making. Example: Separation from government and the Alberta Energy Regulator, and between hearing commissioners and other AER decision makers, are required.
It’s not an unreasonable question.
Request to investigate David Yager for conflict of interest rejected by Alberta ethics commissioner.
Correction: Yager’s Mature Asset Strategy is not about “abandoned” wells. It’s, inter alia, about unprofitable oil & gas wells & who will pay to retire them).
medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...