LAKELAND - Across Alberta, time has taken its toll on oil and gas wells as they ceased production. Statistics show that back in 2922, some 8,000 wells were declared inactive and 4,500 wells were declared ‘reclaimed’, meaning that the wells have been safely sealed, any contamination of the well sites has been dealt with and the land has been returned, as much as possible, to is pre-drilled state.
Recently, the Town of Elk Point received notification from Canadian Natural Resources Limited that nine wells drilled in 2011 and 2012 on a quarter section of town-owned land that also includes the landfill and transfer station are scheduled for abandonment and reclamation, along with their access road.
According to the letter from CNRL, this is a multiple-step process that begins with a service rig abandoning the well and the removal of all surface facilities from the well site. Following that, a qualified representative from the company will assess the site and develop a reclamation program based in the assessment. A site assessment includes evaluation of soil depth and composition, including the collection of soil samples, vegetation and land characteristics such as drainage.
In some cases, such as on cropland where adverse affects to the soil have occurred and later been removed, the company may amend the surface lease on the property to provide compensation to the landowner for losses that could occur before the reclamation is complete, according to the information from CNRL.
Once it is determined that the site meets the Alberta Government well site reclamation criteria, the company thane applies to the Alberta Energy Regulator for a reclamation certificate, and when it is received, the company will surrender the lease, and discharge the caveat placed on the title at the time the lease came into effect, and cease paying financial compensation to the landowner for the lease.
Abandonments and reclamations continue to take place across the province, with farmland then able to go back into production on the surface rather than producing a different type of harvest from hundreds of feet below ground level.
