More money has been allocated by the Saskatchewan government to clean up inactive oil and gas sites in the province.
Under Phase Two of the Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP), up to $200 million in funding can be accessed to accelerate the retirement of inactive wells in the province.
The province said the program will support more than 2,000 full-time-equivalent jobs.
“Our top priority continues to be getting Saskatchewan oil and gas service workers back to work,” Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said Friday in a statement.
“The ASCP prioritizes Saskatchewan companies and is widely regarded as pragmatic, efficient and fair.”
The president of Buffalo Head Environmental said they are humbled to be part of the program.
“We are a Saskatchewan company, with a local team of professionals, and we are fortunate to remain employed during these turbulent times,” Scott Paton said.
“The directive of the program to dedicate Saskatchewan resources to Saskatchewan sites resonates with our mantra: ‘We care because we live here.’”
The ASCP program was announced by the federal government in May as part of its COVID emergency response plan.
As of the end of October, 428 well abandonments, 107 flowline abandonments, six facility reclamations and 552 site remediation and reclamation activities have been completed in Saskatchewan during the first phase, which ends this month.
“The federal government’s funding to clean up inactive and orphan wells means Saskatchewan oil and gas workers are getting back on the job at a time when the industry that has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and low global commodity prices,” said Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s minister of natural resources.
Phase Two of the ASCP runs from January 2021 to March 2022.
Up to 8,000 inactive wells and facilities are expected to be reclaimed over the two years of the program.
ASCP is being overseen by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council.