Photo courtesy of Alex McCuaig - One of a number of well which make up the Manyberries oilfield with the Sweet Grass Hills in the background.

By Alex McCuaig

Manyberries oil wells

Abandonment of wells in Manyberries field underway

Jan 2, 2020 | 5:14 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – The city is abandoning a number of oil wells in addition to the more than 2,000 gas wells announced in September, CHAT News has learned.

Medicine Hat’s commissioner of energy and utilities says the move is tied oil wells in the Manyberries area in which the city and now insolvent LGX Oil and Gas had joint interests in.

“We’ve been issued an order by the provincial regulator that as we are a working interest owner, we have a piece of those wells,” said Brad Maynes, adding that requires the city to, “secure them and then abandon them and ultimately reclaim them on behalf of all the working interest parties.”

In Alberta, those costs which are over and above the proportional ownership stake of the responsible solvent party can then be reclaimed either through other partners or through the Orphan Well Fund if there is a shortfall.

IN THE COMMUNITY

'Compassionate Friends' offer peer support for bereaved in Medicine Hat

4h ago

POSTAL STRIKE

Donations to Medicine Hat non-profits drop over Canada Post strike

4h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Adopt-A-Rink program still seeking volunteers

12h ago

“These are wells that are suspended so our first action was to ensure that the wells were safe and secure from an environmental perspective,” said Maynes. “Later on this year, we’ll enter into a process where we actually abandon the zones that are underneath the ground and then we’ll actually remove the surface production equipment.”

The move comes in conjunction with the city’s announcement in September of a plan to abandon around 2,000 gas wells owned by the municipality in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The city of Medicine Hat purchased more than 250 wells from Chinook Energy in January 2012 – 68 of which were in production of sweet crude at the time council voted to purchase the play for nearly $50 million with additional plans to drill two horizontal wells and invest nearly $15 million more in the oilfield.

Maynes says there are currently 150 to 175 wells at the Manyberries play which the city is involved in.

The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) has been involved in the environmental litigation surrounding the Manyberries area over the last decade and the eventual emergency protection order for the endangered sage grouse.

AWA’s Cliff Wallis says the move has as much to do with the economics of the oil and gas industry currently than protection of species at risk but will help with recovery of endangered animals who require native grasslands habitats to survive nonetheless.

“It gives our species at risk a bit of a reprieve,” said Wallis.

“Instead of looking at head-long development and more intrusions we have the ability now to repair that landscape in a full-throated manner rather than a just tinkering around the edges – which is what we did for decades and got the greater sage grouse into trouble.”

Maynes added the city is regularly reviewing its oil assets such as those which were acquired in the early 2000s as part of the municipality’s purchase of Allied Oil to determine when and if to abandon wells currently suspended.