Clean up liabilities continue to swell in Alberta as first oilsands project is orphaned

Clean up liabilities continue to swell in Alberta as first oilsands project is orphaned

The Financial Post

Alberta’s Orphan Well Association is expected to take responsibility for cleaning up and remediating an oilsands project for the first time, potentially adding tens of millions of dollars in liabilities to an already financially strained organization.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the receiver for insolvent Southern Pacific Resources Corp., asked an Alberta judge Tuesday to approve a transfer of the liability for cleaning up the company’s steam-based McKay oilsands facility to the OWA, which manages conventional idle oil and gas wells which is not owned by an entity. Read more….