Alberta Site Rehabilitation Program

Eligibility requirements

• Oil and gas sites must be in Alberta and provide work for Albertans.
• All laws, regulations, directives, and environmental and occupational health and safety standards, including social distancing and COVID-19 related health guidelines, must be followed throughout the project.
• Oil field service contractors must have a valid contract with Alberta oil and gas licensee
• The contracts must be fully executed with no ‘subject to’ clauses.
• Only the contractor who has signed the agreement with the licensee can apply.
• Contractors and consultants may not apply on behalf of others. The company responsible for doing the contracted work must apply for the grant.
• The licensee is responsible for ensuring the contractor has the skills, expertise, capacity and equipment to conduct the work to meet all provincial requirements.
• Grant funding will be awarded only to the contractor, not the licensee.

Eligible activities

Activities eligible for the grand include the following:

• Closure work on inactive wells, facilities, and pipelines
• Environmental site assessments (Phase 1 and Phase 2)
• Remediation
• Reclamation
• Preparation of applications for remediation and reclamation certificates

Eligible cost

All costs associated with completing the work are eligible for grant funding, including:

•  Materials and supplies
•  Wages
• Equipment rentals
• Laboratory analyses
• Transportation of equipment and workers to and from sites

First increment – CLOSED

$100 million in funding. Grant applications were accepted for:

• Oil and gas sites needing abandonment and/or reclamation across Alberta
• Projects that require 100% government funding
• Contracts of up to $30,000 (per application, per closure activity)

Details on application selection criteria were not provided.

All work must be completed and invoiced by December 31, 2022.

Second increment – May 21 through June 18

$100 million in funding available. Grant applications will be accepted for:

• Oil and gas sites on land where government is paying compensation to landowners as required under Section 36 of the Surface Rights Act (otherwise referred to as Section 36 lands). Sites already in the Orphan Well Association program are not eligible.
• Projects that require 100% government funding
• There is no contract cost limit for Period 2
• Private landowners, First Nations on reserve, and residents of Métis settlements can nominate oil and gas sites for closure work through the Site Rehabilitation Program.

The application review process will continue to use department and industry data to assess whether the contract’s costs and scope of work are reasonable. Supplemental information and guidelines are available online. All work must be completed and invoiced by December 31, 2022.

Third and future increments – details to be determined

Criteria for future increments will be posted as they are developed. Future increments may focus on larger projects with larger contract values.

WSP is available to assist you in preparing your application for submission on June 18th for the third increment (Period 3). Contact our experts today.