CALGARY – Alberta’s energy minister says the government will never use public tax dollars to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells.
Brian Jean says it will never be an option, despite a newly leaked government-funded report listing recommendations for how Alberta should reclaim its nearly 80,000 inactive wells.
The recommendations include creating companies backstopped by taxpayers that would acquire abandoned wells and use revenues from them to fund the cleanup.
It also recommends setting up an insurance fund financed by industry that is ultimately backstopped by the province.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the government is considering some of the recommendations in the report but didn’t say which ones.
The province has long debated how to deal with abandoned wells mounting across Alberta, despite existing laws that require companies to clean up their own assets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2025.