The Alberta Energy Regulator has issued an order suspending all of Mojek Resources Inc.’s wells, facilities and pipelines after failure by the Calgary-based company to clean up multiple spills and comply with provincial regulations.
The order, issued Tuesday, stated that Mojek failed to demonstrate it could provide effective care and custody of its sites and that the company hadn’t complied with multiple past orders.
“The AER has directed the working interest participants and the Orphan Well Association (OWA) to provide care and custody over Mojek’s sites,” it stated.
Working interest participants refer to other parties that have a financial interest in a licensee’s wells and facilities. When directed by the AER, they have a duty to provide reasonable care and measures when the licensee they have partnered with has failed or is unable to do so, according to the order.
“We work with licensees to ensure they understand Alberta’s rules, and the majority of companies follow those rules,” said Blair Reilly, AER’s director of enforcement and emergency management.
“When they don’t, we take action to protect public safety and the environment.”
The order requires the OWA and Mojek’s working interest participants to take a number of actions, including the suspension of Mojek’s 32 wells, 35 pipelines and sole facility. They must ensure those assets “are left in a state that is safe to the public and environment.”
They must also address historical non-compliance at Mojek’s sites, provide an active emergency response number that will initiate an immediate response in an emergency, and provide a detailed plan that demonstrates how Mojek’s wells, facilities and pipelines will be cared for while they are suspended.
The AER previously suspended all of Mojek’s operations in January and ordered it to take action after repeated attempts seeking compliance by the company.
The regulator said Mojek remains in non-compliance with AER requirements. Tuesday’s order does not absolve Mojek from any of its responsibilities and liabilities, but ensures the sites are responsibly attended to for the protection of the public and environment, according to the regulator.
Mojek currently owes $1.76 million in security to the AER for its end-of-life obligations. The company also owes outstanding debts to the OWA and the AER.
Energy Minister Sonya Savage said the Alberta government plans to implement a new liability management framework that will include steps for “tougher enforcement” when oil and gas companies don’t meet their regulatory requirements.
“The vast majority of our oil and gas sector are complying with their regulatory obligations,” Savage said.
“Ones that aren’t, there does need to be enforcement.”
The new framework will allow the AER to work with companies in financial distress on meeting their obligations, she added.
“I think it’ll bring them to the table,” said Savage.
“It’s a small group that aren’t (complying), but there are resources that are available in the AER to work with those companies, to help them find pathways to meet regulatory compliance. I think it will encourage companies to take those steps.”
— With files from Chris Varcoe
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