Developments since the AER Supreme Court appeal of the Redwater decision – the Bankruptcy trustee for Sequoia Resources sues over end of life liabilities raising the question “Who is responsible when financially shaky companies are unable to fund the eventual cleanup of old wells, pipelines and other facllities?”

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This has been the concern reverberating throughout the oil and gas industry since the Redwater case first went to trial and now with subsequent high-profile bankruptcies in Alberta. According to Mike Newton of 360 Energy Liability Management “the fear is that companies will sell an asset to another entity that eventually goes bankrupt, and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Orphan Well Association (OWA) will come knocking on the door to recover costs for the end of life liabilities. A little-known precedent agreed to in the early 1990’s between industry and government appeared to have shielded industry from lookbacks, but the recent announcement that PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PWC), acting as Trustee of Sequoia Resources Corp. (Sequoia), is pursuing Perpetual Energy Inc. (Perpetual) in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench for asset retirement obligations (ARO) has sent a renewed shockwave of unease throughout the industry.”

How do companies protect themselves from clients who can’t pay?

What happens if our key customer/supplier suffers a catastrophic loss and can’t do business?
What happens if our employee accidentally sends the wrong client’s confidential information?
What is our process for assessing introduced risks from changing regulations?
Who covers the costs if an M&A deal falls apart after an LOI is signed?
Solutions to these questions and others are paramount to the success of every business.

Join Mr. Ryan Smith and Mr. Mike Newton of 360 Energy Liability Management Ltd. addressing and select SKIP Login.