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Change in Business Process Relating to the Review of Upstream Oil and Gas Reclamation Certificate Applications

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Release Date: April 02, 2015

 

Effective immediately, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has implemented a change to an internal business process regarding the review of upstream oil and gas reclamation certificate applications. Application deficiencies affect our ability to review and process reclamation certificates in a timely manner. We identified common application deficiencies and ranked them as either “major” or “minor” (based on the frequency of occurrence and the impact on review efficiency). Based on these categories, we have implemented new review procedures.

If the application contains no more than two minor deficiencies, the applicants (licensee and contractor) will receive a letter from us and will have ten days to correct the deficiencies.

Applications are refused and the applicants (licensee and consultant) will be notified if any of the following conditions are met:

  • the application contains one major deficiency,
  • the application contains three or more minor deficiencies, or,
  • in situations where a 10-day letter was issued, the applicant did not respond within the time allowed.

The application requirements and reclamation criteria have not changed; applicants should continue following the 2010 Reclamation Criteria for Wellsites and Associated Facilities: Application Guidelines.

To support applicants in addressing common deficiencies before submitting, we are also providing copies of the documents our staff use when evaluating application deficiencies, including the checklist itself, a description and classification of the various deficiencies, and a sample “10-day” letter. Up-to-date versions of these documents are available on the reclamation page of the AER website (Suspension and Abandonment).

This review process is effective immediately. It is recommended that industry assess any previously submitted and as-yet unreviewed applications and, if deficiencies are found, withdraw and resubmit them.

For further information regarding on the AER Upstream Oil and Gas Reclamation Program, including the 2010 Reclamation Criteria for Wellsites and Associated Facilities: Application Guidelines, please see our webpage on reclamation. For more information on the AER and its processes, please contact the AER Customer Contact Centre, Monday to Friday (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), at 1-855-297-8311 (toll free).

 <original signed by>

 J. Kevin Ball
Acting Vice President
Closure & Liability Branch