Orphan Well Inventory
Where an operator of a well or oil and gas facility fails to comply with a shut down order, the minister may by order, on the expiration of the time specified in the shut down order, authorize the director, after the director gives notice of not less than 30 days to the operator, to seize and take over the management and control of the well or oil and gas facility for such period of time, and to take such steps and employ such person and equipment, as the director considers necessary or advisable for one or more of the following purposes:
- To carry out the remedial measures set out in the shut down notice;
- To dispose of oil and gas from the well or oil and gas facility
- To cause the well or oil and gas facility to be sold, in accordance with the regulations;
- To repair, partially plug, or abandon a well;
- To sell the equipment used to operate the well or oil and gas facility;
- To clean up and rehabilitate the site of the well or oil and gas facility and any other land or ground water contaminated by activities related to the well or oil and gas facility, and take action in respect of any spill.
Where the director is unable to locate a licensee or is satisfied that a corporation that is a licensee is dissolved, the director may, after receiving the prescribed fee and any prescribed performance security, transfer the well license to a person who holds the surface rights for the site of the well, and the oil and gas rights in the spacing unit in which the well is located.
Parties interested in acquiring an orphaned license(s) should notify the Petroleum Branch. The notification should be submitted to an inspector at petroleum@gov.mb.ca and include the following details:
- Licensee name of the party wishing to acquire the orphan licence(s) along with contact information (name, phone number and email);
- The orphan license number(s) interested in acquiring along with the current orphaned licensee name
- The intended use/of the license(s), if acquired
The Petroleum Branch will review the requests on a first-come first-served basis and reserves the right to approve/deny any license transfer application.
A representative of the Petroleum Branch will respond via email whether a transfer will be considered and if so, the next steps to be taken by the interested party.
For more information on transferring seized well licenses, please contact Whitney Baker by e-mail at Whitney.Baker@gov.mb.ca.
Available in alternate formats upon request.
