Alberta orphan wells and mine liabilities
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In Alberta, security held against oil-sands mine closure costs was recorded at $1.46 billion against $28.35 billion of liabilities, while the inventory of wells left without a solvent owner reached 7,302 by July 2026. Mines are secured in advance; orphan-well cleanup is paid for afterwards by an industry levy and public loans.
Auditor General of Alberta, November 2019. The currency is not stated beside these figures in the sources reviewed.
Status As of July 2026: the Orphan Well Association's inventory stood at 7,302 wells, with an estimated cleanup cost of $1.66 billion; no court case is documented.
- Large producers able to pay — According to CTV News, most of the Site Rehabilitation Program money went to liabilities of large producers able to pay. CTV News
What happened
The record covers the money set aside to close and clean up oil and gas wells and mines in Alberta, Canada, and who pays when an operator cannot. It describes two different designs. For mines, security is collected in advance. For wells left without a solvent owner, the industry contributes afterwards through a levy. The institutions named are the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the Orphan Well Association (OWA), which the record dates to 2002. An orphan well is a well left unclosed because its owner went bankrupt.
In a report dated November 2019, the Auditor General of Alberta recorded mine security of $1.46 billion against liabilities of $28.35 billion, as at 30 June 2018.
An internal 2018 presentation by an AER executive calculated closure liabilities for oil, gas, oil sands and pipelines at C$260 billion: C$130 billion for mining, C$100 billion for wells and C$30 billion for pipelines. The figure disclosed publicly was C$58 billion, and the security held was C$1.6 billion. The regulator withdrew the internal figure, describing it as a worst-case scenario. A further figure, the regulator's deemed oil and gas liability, was recorded at $36 billion in July 2024.
The Orphan Well Association's inventory rose from 1,719 to 3,388 wells in 2024/25, of which about 1,800 came from Sequoia, and reached 7,302 wells by July 2026, including 2,980 from Long Run Exploration. The industry levy that funds the association was $144 million in 2025/26 and $154.6 million in 2026/27. Provincial and federal loans of $330 million are repayable to 2035. The estimated cleanup cost of the inventory moved from $650–700 million in 2021 to $1.66 billion in July 2026.
In 2020 the record lists federal funding of $1.72 billion, of which Alberta's $1 billion Site Rehabilitation Program could not be used for the Orphan Well Association's inventory. CTV News reported that the program paid C$864 million to 560 contractors, that more than half of it went to large companies able to pay, and that an Alberta senator said not a single orphan well had been cleaned up.
- 2002Orphan Well Association dated to this year in the record
- 2018Mine security of $1.46bn recorded against $28.35bn of liabilities (30 June); an AER executive's internal presentation calculates C$260bn of closure liabilities against a disclosed C$58bn
- 2019Auditor General of Alberta report on AER land disturbances from mining (November)
- 2020Federal funding of $1.72bn recorded, including Alberta's $1bn Site Rehabilitation Program
- 2021Estimated orphan-well cleanup cost of $650–700 million
- 2022CTV News reports an Alberta senator questioning Site Rehabilitation Program spending
- 2024Regulator's deemed oil and gas liability recorded at $36bn (July); Orphan Well Association inventory rises to 3,388 wells in 2024/25
- 2026Inventory reaches 7,302 wells and the estimated cleanup cost $1.66bn (July)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Calculated closure liabilities for oil, gas, oil sands and pipelines at C$260 billion.
The disclosed figure was C$58 billion, with C$1.6 billion of security held; the regulator withdrew the internal figure as a worst-case scenario.
Recorded mine security of $1.46 billion against mine liabilities of $28.35 billion at 30 June 2018.
Office of the Auditor General of AlbertaPresented as economic recovery combined with the cleanup of abandoned wells.
CTV NewsQuestioned hundreds of millions of dollars of spending and said not a single orphan well had been cleaned up.
CTV NewsReported C$864 million paid to 560 contractors, more than half of it to large companies able to pay.
CTV NewsHow it looked
Shown
- The Site Rehabilitation Program was presented as economic recovery combined with the cleanup of abandoned wells.Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program, as described in the CTV News report · CTV News
Recorded
- Mine security of $1.46bn against liabilities of $28.35bn at 30 June 2018.
- Orphan Well Association inventory: 3,388 wells in 2024/25 (up from 1,719, about 1,800 of them from Sequoia); 7,302 wells by July 2026 (2,980 from Long Run Exploration).
- Industry levy of $144 million in 2025/26 and $154.6 million in 2026/27; $330 million in provincial and federal loans repayable to 2035.
- Estimated cleanup cost of $650–700 million in 2021 and $1.66 billion in July 2026.
- Of federal funding of $1.72 billion (2020), Alberta's $1 billion Site Rehabilitation Program could not be used for the Orphan Well Association's inventory.
- The Site Rehabilitation Program paid C$864 million to 560 contractors; more than half of it went to large companies able to pay; an Alberta senator said not a single orphan well had been cleaned up.
- An AER executive's 2018 internal presentation calculated closure liabilities of C$260 billion (C$130 billion mining, C$100 billion wells, C$30 billion pipelines); the disclosed figure was C$58 billion and the security held C$1.6 billion.
- Regulator's deemed oil and gas liability: $36 billion (July 2024).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Alberta Energy Regulator: Withdrew the internal C$260 billion figure, describing it as a worst-case scenario.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give the current total of security the regulator holds for oil and gas.
- None on record No court case is documented in the record.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state the currency beside the dollar figures from the Auditor General's report and the Orphan Well Association inventory.
Did the harm stop?
No. The orphan-well inventory was still growing, at 7,302 wells by July 2026.
Who paid?
Orphan-well cleanup is funded after the fact by an industry levy ($144 million in 2025/26) and by $330 million in provincial and federal loans repayable to 2035; mine security is collected in advance but was recorded at $1.46 billion against $28.35 billion of liabilities.
Sources
Government and regulators
- AER Land Disturbances from Mining (report dated November 2019)Office of the Auditor General of Alberta · 2019-11
Press and investigations
Connected cases
- Giant Mine cleanup cost in Yellowknife rose to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars Canada · 1999–2022 Related matter
- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans; there: Bears the federal cost of the cleanup
- Alberta orphan wells, closure liabilities and the Redwater ruling Canada · 2002
- Alberta Energy Regulator (Public authority) — here: Regulator of oil, gas and mining closure obligations; there: Regulator of oil, gas and mining closure obligations
- Orphan Well Association (Association) — here: Body that cleans up wells left without a solvent owner; there: Body that cleans up wells left without a solvent owner
- Auditor General of Alberta (Public authority) — here: Audited mine security against liabilities (November 2019); there: Audited mine security against liabilities (November 2019)
- Government of Alberta (Government) — here: Funder of the Site Rehabilitation Program; there: Funder of the Site Rehabilitation Program
- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans; there: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans
- Alberta and Ottawa tie new oil pipeline to Pathways carbon capture plan Canada · 2025
- Government of Alberta (Government) — here: Funder of the Site Rehabilitation Program; there: Party to the November 2025 agreement; 12 percent grant
- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans; there: Party to the November 2025 agreement; federal tax credit
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- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans; there: Federal government; subject of the 2012 assessment law and Bill C-5
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- Alberta Energy Regulator (Public authority) — here: Regulator of oil, gas and mining closure obligations; there: defendant in the lawsuit
- Lac-Mégantic rail disaster (Quebec) Canada · 2012–2026
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- Government of Alberta (Government) — here: Funder of the Site Rehabilitation Program; there: committed financing and loan guarantee to the pipeline
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- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Source of federal funding (2020) and loans; there: Owner since 2018; guarantor of the credit facility