Okotoks oil company, Redwater Energy Corporation will be on the hook from the Supreme Courts ruling, that sees most oil companies, who abandoned their wells, be held accountable for covering the cost of the decommissioned well.

The ruling keeps the responsibility in the hands of the companies and will not see the cost of the wells left to taxpayers, at a price tag of over 100 million dollars.

Alberta Energy Minister, Margaret Mccuaig-Boyd said in a press conference...

"To quote the decision, bankrupcy is not a license to ignore rules. We couldn't agree more. We thank the court for taking the time to get this right. Working families across this province, as well as all of Canada should not have to pay for the financial and environmental liabilities left behind when companies walk away from their obligations".

"These problems built up over decades. When oil and gas was booming, the conservatives ran away from problems and failed to hold companies accountable to Albertans. Today we're cleaning up more orphan wells than ever before, and faster".

Back in 2016, Alberta’s Queen bench ruled that the Redwater Company could use the profits from sales of assets, to pay creditors first and not towards cleaning up operation sites, with this new ruling... that no longer is the case.

 

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