Citations for Ep 3 - Hydropower, Climate Basics Podcast
- Greg
- Nov 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 2
we received criticism that we are speaking inaccurately / making unsubstantiated claims
It seems that these are not particularly serious criticisms but rather bluster made under cover of relative anonymity.
Notwithstanding, it would appear that there are two main points criticized:
there are not approx 5,000 orphaned wells & 75,000+ inactive wells (half more than 10 yrs old) in Alberta; or
that inactive / abandoned well fields are Mad Max hellscapes is an inaccurate characterization.
There are Approx 5,000 Orphaned Oil Wells and Over 75,000 Inactive Oil Wells in Alberta
On the issue of Alberta's orphaned wells and inactive wells, which we described as a Mad Max wasteland or a Mordor hellscape (Lord of the Rings):
4,700 sites for decommissioning (incl 4,000 wells) - as of Oct2025
the OWA, cited above, is the organization:
Established in 2002, the Orphan Well Association (OWA) manages the closure of orphaned oil and gas wells, pipelines, and facilities and the reclamation of associated sites across Alberta.
When an energy company becomes insolvent, defunct, or cannot meet its obligations to close its site safely and responsibly, we may designate the well, facility, or pipeline as an orphan to the Orphan Well Association’s OWA’s care to be abandoned, remediated, and reclaimed under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act.
Dec2024 article:
Alberta now has 79,000 wells classed as inactive versus 83,000 in 2022. Inactive wells no longer produce oil or gas and need to be permanently plugged and the land around them restored.
Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest gas producer, and its western provinces are dotted with hundreds of thousands of active and inactive wells. Some of those wells are orphans, meaning the companies that owned them have gone bankrupt or ceased to exist.
Industry operators continue to work on the backlog of inactive infrastructure. In 2023, the inactive well count decreased by 5% from 83 000 to 79 000.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has directed the Orphan Well Association (OWA) to assume control of the majority of Sequoia Resources Corp.’s (Sequoia) sites. The reasonable care and measures (RCAM) order(opens in new window) issued on January 29, 2025, directs the OWA to immediately take responsibility for the care of about 2500 sites that the AER has now orphaned for closure.
...
On March 1, 2018, the AER ordered Sequoia to properly abandon all its inventory after the company indicated it was ceasing operations. The bankruptcy trustee in place since 2018 recently discharged about 2500 wells, facilities, and associated pipelines that went unsold in its sales process. The discharged inventory represents the bulk of Sequoia’s remaining inventory.
The AER’s direction to the OWA helps to ensure that sites discharged are closed and reclaimed in a safe, efficient, and orderly manner and that the responsible parties are held to account for their share of the costs of those activities.
Bankruptcy Sale: Sequoia Resources Corporation | BOE Report - related to the above Jan2025 News Release
2022 report, estimates costs of clean-up in Canada to be $1.1B
170,000 abandoned wells in Alberta
Orphaned and Inactive / Unremediated Oil Wells Do Leave a Hellscape Worthy of a Mad Max Film or an Honourable Mention as "Mordor North" from the Lord of the Rings
As a comparison:
Alberta is 4x the size of Florida - MapFight - Alberta (Canada) size comparison
Alberta's oil sands, themselves, are about 80% the size of Florida - How Big Are Canada's Oil Sands? - Visual Capitalist
2/3 of the oil sands have been granted leases by the government
tailings ponds cover 176 sq km, which is 2x the size of Manhattan (the island)
Introduction to the Crown-Indigenous Working Group for the Potential Oil Sands Mining Effluent Regulations - Canada.ca
The oil sands mining processes require large amounts of water. The bitumen extraction process generates mine water and tailings that are stored in tailings ponds. Approximately 12-15 barrels of tailings are generated for each barrel of bitumen produced. Despite high rates of water recycling, tailings ponds continue to grow. There are approximately 28 tailings ponds in the oil sands region spanning over 220 km2. In 2021, the Alberta Energy Regulator reported 8 operating oil sands mines storing approximately 1.3 billion m3 of fluid tailings (enough to fill about 540,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools) and 472 million m3 of tailings water in 28 tailings impoundment structures (that is, tailings ponds).
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