BC’s orphan well clean-up program nearly fully subscribed

The BC government reports its Dormant Sites Reclamation program, a federal government funded project to clean up inactive and orphan wells, received over 1,100 applications and was almost fully subscribed on the first day it was offered.

Bruce Ralston, BC Minister of Energy says “the applications we have received in a single day propose upwards of $152 million worth of reclamation work.”  Ralston adds if the work is completed, the program will reclaim over 2,400 orphan oil wells.

Along with the environmental benefits, the program also provides work to BC workers in oil and gas service companies who have struggled to find employment due to falling commodity prices.

“The extraordinary interest in the program is great news as we work to get our economy moving again and help clean up the environment,” said Ralston.

According to a press release from the BC government, the first application to the Dormant Sites Reclamation program was received within 15 minutes of opening on Wednesday, and by the end of the day the there were more than 80 applications from service companies and contractors.

It is estimated that the program could support up to 1,200 jobs for British Columbians, many of them within the northeast region of the province.

Last month, the Government of Canada announced $120 million in funding for BC to support the clean up of oil and gas sites. On May 19, the BC government rolled out three new programs to offer the funding to BC oil and gas service industry.

The $100 million in funding allocated to the Dormant Sites Reclamation program will provide successful applicants with up to $100,000, or 50 per cent of total costs, whichever is less, for orphan well site clean up projects.

The program is split into two phases of $50 million each. Applications for the second half will open on November 1, 2020. Of the remaining federal funding, $15 million is going to the BC Oil and Gas Commission’s (BCOGC) Orphan Sites Supplemental Reclamation program, and $5 million to the Legacy Sites Reclamation program.

These programs are open to oil and gas field service companies and contractors based in BC, with registration, office and operations in the province