Mark Dorin

Five years ago today I posted this. It’s still relevant.

Alberta probes why firms in tax arrears got new well licences Documents show some companies with large tax arrears were still approved to acquire new well licences, raising questions about how provincial rules are enforced.

It will take more than a report called Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy to tackle the massive problem of hundreds of insolvent oil companies holding over 35,000 well, facility, and pipeline licenses.

Where’s the Regulator?

www.lakelandtoday.ca/the-latest/s....

I applaud this from Alberta’s chief justices. 👏

The principles they remind us of also apply to quasi-judicial decision making. Example: Separation from government and the Alberta Energy Regulator, and between hearing commissioners and other AER decision makers, are required.

It’s not an unreasonable question.

Conflict of interest investigation into AER board member denied by ethics commissioner - Medicine Hat News zmason@medicinehatnews.com The ethics commissioner has denied a request for investigation into an energy regulator board member and adviser to Premier Danielle Smith for possible conflicts of interest...

Request to investigate David Yager for conflict of interest rejected by Alberta ethics commissioner.

Correction: Yager’s Mature Asset Strategy is not about “abandoned” wells. It’s, inter alia, about unprofitable oil & gas wells & who will pay to retire them).

medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...

Ethics complaint dismissed against Smith advisor who supports publicly funded well cleanup In a Dec. 10 letter obtained by The Orchard, Ethics Commissioner (and UCP donor) Shawn McLeod says the Conflict of Interest Act doesn't apply to David Yager.

This man David Yager told me in a phone message he is a “Minister Without Portfolio” of the Alberta government. The Ethics Commissioner found he is not.

He is on the board of directors of the Alberta Energy Regulator.

www.readtheorchard.org/p/ethics-com...

Which illegality should prevail?

Gas venting at oil wells is illegal in Alberta but the Regulator refuses to enforce the law.

Shutting in someone else’s well is also illegal.

I’m experienced. I can shut down the offending wells safely. Should I?

How low can it go? 😢

youtu.be/RsYgWAqmqms?...

The survey was commissioned by Coalition for Responsible Energy (C4RE). I am a co-founder. There are also some 360,000 well sites yet to be cleaned up.

YouTube video by Mark Dorin How to Avoid an Alberta Orphan Well Crisis

My public service video:

How to Avoid an Alberta Orphan Well Crisis.

youtu.be/d1yqOxubTc4?...

My Saturday public education project on an important subject Albertans are poorly informed about.

I recently gave a seminar in Calgary on "Alberta's Orphan Well Crisis" (not my title). I made a video of that presentation.

Today I am preparing it for upload to YouTube.

I agree, the Alberta Energy Regulator is a joke. Been calling for AER reform for years. All of industry and AER staff know how bad it is. Municipalities know. Most landowners know.

So why can’t we achieve any progress on reform?

I agree, the Alberta Energy Regulator is a joke. Been calling for AER reform for years. All of industry and AER staff know how bad it is. Municipalities know. Most landowners know.

So why can’t we achieve any progress on reform?

Stay positive! Worked for me to fend off bowel cancer. You can do it!

Clean up the MAS: How Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy allows a profitable industry to offload oil and gas cleanup to the public — Redwater Insights By Rob Schuwerk Redwater Head of Research

🚨 Another new report criticizing the Alberta government's Mature Asset Strategy 🚨 -- Clean up the MAS: How Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy allows a profitable industry to offload oil and gas cleanup to the public www.redwaterinsights.org/newsandresea... #ABLeg #ABPoli

Alberta Energy Regulator ignored its own rules, data suggests | The Narwhal New evidence suggests the Alberta Energy Regulator ignored a ministerial order — and critics say that’s just the tip of the iceberg

This is NEFARIOUS levels of negligence. - "Data shows an oil company owed 10 times the government’s limit on unpaid taxes when the Alberta Energy Regulator let it take over more wells and pipelines. Critics says it’s the tip of the iceberg" thenarwhal.ca/alberta-ener... #ABLeg #ABPoli #CDNPoli

Great sarcasm, but Ottawa has no power over any of this. All things oil & gas including land use are provincial issues that just can’t be blamed on Ottawa.

Driving tractors on Edmonton is not a bad idea though, and it could well happen if the plight of landowners continues to be ignored/minimized.

Dwight is a rural landowner in Two Hills, #Alberta.

12 years ago, he was forced to host a gas well on his land, on the condition that the industry fully close and clean it up when the well stopped producing.

That never happened.

Watch the full video 👉 ecojustice.ca/LandownerStories

#OrphanWells

YouTube video by Ecojustice Canada Ron’s Story: Albertan Farmer Speaks Out About Multi-Billion Dollar Well Cleanup Crisis

“When it comes to the oil patch, it seems like there is no rules for them”.

Please watch Ron’s story. Alberta landowner hosting bankrupt Long Run Energy.

(I reported the pipeline break issue in the area to the AER, no reply.

youtu.be/bE0gXHmJUJU?...

Alberta landowners react to well cleanup crisis Rural landowners speak out about Alberta’s multi-billion dollar well cleanup crisis

Rural Albertans are speaking up about their mistreatment by oil & gas companies and our govt's failure to address the cleanup crisis. This problem will only get worse if we don't stop the Mature Asset Strategy & force companies to clean up their mess! ecojustice.ca/news/landown... #ABLeg #ABPoli

Recommendations in the mature assets strategy could cause potential problems for landholders - Alberta Farmer Express The Western Stock Growers’ Association urges producers to pay attention to the potential changes to Alberta’s Mature Assets Strategy.

BEWARE: When landowner and stock producer groups are ringing alarm bells - saying proceed with ⚠️ caution ⚠️ on Alberta’s “Mature Asset Strategy” (plan for spent wells that are liabilities nobody wants) - you should listen!

www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/recomme...

The majority at UCP convention are separatists but also love Danielle Smith, which is strange on its face…unless separatists believe she is one of them but won’t admit it publicly, or aren’t serious enough about separating to dump her. Who knows?

I don’t think they’ll turf her.

Not to mention the odd road trip, one of which I was grateful for.

In my view your constituents are very lucky folks to have you represent them.

I was happy to support fellow @c4re-for-ab.bsky.social coalition member Keeper of the Water in opposition to Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage proposed by Pathway’s Alliance,

Full interview from Bill Heidecker here - A renewed push to hold industry accountable for cleaning up oil wells: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... #ABLeg #ABPoli

Path to victory spelled right out on the most important financial, health, and land rights issues facing Albertans.

Great piece (again) @drewanderson.bsky.social

The real major project is politics, not pipelines | The Narwhal Carney’s major projects push has angered many in Alberta over perceived lack of support for a pipeline project that doesn’t exist

Major projects, major problems: anger at Carney’s unclear plans is the real shared national interest, @drewanderson.bsky.social writes:

thenarwhal.ca/alberta-pipe...

Alberta poll shows strong support for industry covering cleanup and taxes A new Alberta poll found support levels of 84 to 92 per cent for requiring oil and gas companies to pay for well cleanup, unpaid municipal taxes, and unpaid land rents. The TrendWatch Alberta survey o...

www.discoverairdrie.com/articles/alb...

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.

Bill Heidecker president of Alberta Surface Rights Federation on CBC radio this morning.

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

New Poll: Supermajority of Albertans want oil and gas companies to cover costs of well cleanup, unpaid municipal taxes and landowner rents | Coalition For Responsible Energy Poll Results Data PDF Press Release PDF “Albertans don’t agree on a lot these days,” says pollster Janet Brown, “but our research shows they overwhelmingly want the oil and gas industry to pay their b...

New Poll: Supermajority of Albertans want oil and gas companies to cover costs of well cleanup, unpaid municipal taxes and landowner rents | Coalition For Responsible Energy (C4RE)

responsibleenergyab.ca/new-poll-sup...