BC returns $12 million in oil and gas well cleanup funds

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — More than $12 million from an investment into cleaning up inactive wells in BC has been returned to the federal government.

The funding came from a $1.7 billion investment into oil and natural gas wells the federal government divided between BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2020.

According to a CBC report, Saskatchewan spent the entirety of its $400 million allocation, while Alberta had to return $137 million to the federal government.

BC’s allocation was $120 million. 

According to Alanah Connie, a communications manager with the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Low-Carbon Innovation, the funding was divided between three site reclamation projects.

“Of this $120 million, $107 million was spent in BC on oil and gas site cleanup,” Connie explains.

“Unspent funds of approximately $12.88 million were returned back to the Federal Government at the end of the program as per the financial assistance agreement signed with the Province.”

Connie added that one of the programs, the Dormant Sites Reclamation Project, supported closure work at 2,275 dormant oil and gas sites across the province and led to a further $135.6 million investment by permit holders into dormant well cleanup.

CBC’s reporting says the money that was returned will be deposited alongside the federal government’s general revenue.