Oil and Gas - Alberta Wilderness Association

Prairie Bluff, Castle (N. Douglas)

Moose Mountain well, Kananaskis (N. Douglas)

According to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, oil and gas well reclamation is progressing at a much slower rate than well abandonment. This is resulting in a buildup of uncertified wells. On average, between 2002 and 2011, 14,227 wells were drilled per year, 4,111 were abandoned and 1,682 certified. This indicates that over the last 10 years, the certification rate has been approximately 40.9 per cent of the abandonment rate (Oil and Gas Reclamation, Alberta ESRD, March 2012)

Position

Alberta Wilderness Association believes that hydrocarbon exploration and development should be regulated in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of wilderness values. There is a fundamental need for the maintenance of wilderness that is free of industrial incursion. Outside of such areas, exploration and development must be conducted in an environmentally responsible manner.

2020

In February, AWA learned that Alberta-based Seven Generations Energy was the first Canadian natural gas producer to receive Equitable Origins’ (EO) certification to the EO100 standard. AWA has since engaged with Equitable Origins certifiers to support a sound application of the biodiversity provisions of their oil and gas certification, which we believe could help improve energy industry land-use practices. Since June, AWA has engaged directly with Seven Generations Energy around biodiversity concerns and opportunities in its Kakwa region lease holdings.

In early April, AWA voiced concerns about Alberta’s March 31 decision to suspend most energy industry environmental compliance reporting requirements. We were unconvinced that this was a pandemic safety-related measure since all data gathering and record-keeping requirements remained. We joined First Nations and other ENGOs in raising concerns when Alberta further suspended most environmental monitoring requirements in late April and early May; this occurred at a time when other economic activities were re-opening with pandemic safety measures in place. Although reporting and monitoring resumed in July 2020, AWA remains concerned about the interruption of compliance reporting and loss of data collection without transparent justification.

March 19, 2025

AWA Statement on the Government of Alberta’s Draft Mature Asset Strategy

March 19, 2025 Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) strongly condemns the Government of Alberta’s plan to…

February 25, 2025

Joint Letter to NDP Leader and MLAs Re: Public inquiry into the Alberta Energy Regulator

The attached letter (link below) was submitted on February 25, 2025, to the leader of…

February 14, 2025

Joint Statement: Appointing an oil executive as new CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator shatters any hope for a fair and effective oversight of the industry

Joint statement by Keepers of the Water, Environmental Defence and Alberta Wilderness Association on the…

February 11, 2025

Joint Letter to ECCC Requesting Federal Impact Assessment for Pathways Alliance CCUS Project

On Feb. 11, 2025, Environmental Defence, Alberta Wilderness Association, and 36 other organizations, submitted a…

January 13, 2025

When Conservation and Legislation Collide

To put it another way, what is the point of developing species recovery plans, wildlife…

December 17, 2024

AWA Feedback on Proposed Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Regulations

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, Alberta Wilderness Association wrote to Environment and Climate Change Canada…

December 12, 2024

Environmental and health professionals call for investigation into Alberta oil and gas company’s failure to report air emissions

Originally published by Ecojustice here: https://ecojustice.ca/news/environmental-and-health-professionals-call-for-investigation-into-alberta-oil-and-gas-companys-failure-to-report-air-emissions/ CALGARY/TERRITORIES OF THE BLACKFOOT AND PEOPLES OF TREATIES 6…

December 12, 2024

Application for Investigation to ECCC Re: CNRL’s Failure to Report Emissions to the NPRI

This letter is an Application for Investigation pursuant to section 17 of the Canadian Environmental…

Oil and Gas

November 25, 2024

Oil and gas activity can have a wide range of impacts on natural ecosystems, from the initial exploration stage, through development, production and decommissioning of infrastructure.