Orphan Well Association

Rural Municipalities of Alberta says energy companies now owe towns and villages in which they operate a total of $268 million. That's up more than six per cent from last year and 261 per cent since 2018, when the association began keeping track.

Once bitten, twice shy.

RenuWell project sites near Taber are set to produce enough electricity to power 280 average households by October.

The proposed Goldboro LNG export facility in Nova Scotia — slated to become the East Coast's first such project — could get the axe by June 30.

Environmental advocates who spoke with National Observer on Friday said they were relieved Trudeau — at least for now — has avoided a much larger bailout of the industry.

The amount of unpaid property taxes that oil and gas companies owe Alberta rural municipalities has more than doubled over the last year, a trend some are calling a tax revolt.

The possible transfer of hundreds of sour gas wells, pipelines and other facilities from an energy giant to a much smaller company has raised concerns about Alberta's efforts to ensure taxpayers don't get stuck with the cleanup bill.

The cost of looking after hundreds of wells, pipelines and other oilfield gear left behind by bankrupt Lexin Resources Ltd. has exceeded $2 million and the bills continue to roll in, says Alberta's Orphan Well Association.

Where some see only a jumble of rusted pipes and black tanks jutting from a weed-infested yard in a prairie grain field, Tyler Visscher sees opportunity.