CALGARY – Oilfield services companies in Alberta will be able to apply through an online portal starting May 1 for $1 billion in grants under the oilfield rehabilitation program announced by the federal government last week.
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage says the grant money will be doled out by her department in $100-million increments with an initial focus on service companies that have been most impacted by the current economic downturn.
She says the grants will cover between 25 and 100 per cent of project costs depending on the ability of the oil and gas company responsible for the site to help pay for cleanup, and will be paid directly to the oilfield service company completing the work.
Savage says about 5,300 jobs are expected to be created in Alberta, adding the government expects some of those jobs will begin during May.
The first $100 million is to be available for eligible work anywhere in the province with a cap of up to $30,000 per application. A second increment will focus on sites where the government is covering lease payments to landowners because the oil and gas company can’t or won’t meet its obligations.
The federal government announced a total of $1.7 billion to clean up wells in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, as well as $750 million in loans to help cut methane emissions.