$120 million provided by Federal Government to clean up orphaned wells in BC

VICTORIA, B.C. – Premier John Horgan and Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, provided an update on how the Province is moving forward with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

According to Horgan, the Provincial state of emergency has been extended for an additional two weeks to ensure the spread of the virus remains low.

In order to create jobs and kick-start the economy, Horgan announced that the Province will be rolling out plans for cleaning up orphaned wells with $120 million in funding from the Federal Government.

Horgan says the money will help employ 1,200 British Columbians in the Northeast and will allow for 2,000 sites to be cleaned up through new programs.

var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_89404752”, “obj”: {“id”:”21182″,”width”:”16″,”height”:”9″,”video”:”568805″} }); According to Ralston, the three new programs include the Dormant Sites Reclamation Program, the Orphan Sites Supplemental Reclamation Program, and the Legacy Sites Reclamation Program.

Ralston says these programs will help accelerate the clean up process and restore lands of important environmental and cultural relevance while creating jobs.

“Through these three programs, we are accelerating the cleanup of thousands of orphan and inactive wells. This allows us to restore lands of important environmental and cultural relevance, while also supporting local jobs and local economies in B.C.’s Northeast.”

These programs will be open to oil and gas field service companies and contractors based in B.C., with registration, office and operations in B.C.

Applications for the Dormant Sites Reclamation Program will be accepted beginning May 25.