The Challenge
Alberta has the largest well inventory in Canada - and the gap between environmental liability and reclamation continues to grow.
Well Licences Issued in Alberta, All Time
For every well reclaimed, several more are drilled. The environmental liability backlog continues to grow.
of all well licences have been issued a reclamation certificate
For Environmental Consultants
The workload is massive, but the tools haven't kept up. Consultants waste hours searching for data that should take minutes to find. There's no shortage of important work - you just need better tools to do it.
For Oil & Gas Operators
Regulatory pressure is increasing. Operators need visibility into their liability exposure before it becomes a compliance crisis. Understanding your reclamation status shouldn't require a team of analysts.
Who's actually closing their wells?
Every operator with 50+ wells, by closure rate (reclaimed vs abandoned) and how many wells it has finished. Median closure across 317 operators is 45%.
Alberta's cleanup liability overhang
Two ways to size the bill - what is owed today, and what is coming.
94,869 wells already decommissioned (sealed) but not yet surface-reclaimed, at the OWA's ~$27,700/well average.
Adds 64,561 idle (suspended) wells that still need both decommissioning and reclamation, at ~$56,500/well.
Suspended wells are counted as future cleanup because reactivation is rare - the AER reports fewer than 0.2% of wells idle 10+ years are ever brought back. This estimate still excludes the much larger active-producing inventory, so it understates the full obligation. Figures are modelled from flat OWA averages on public AER licence records; actual per-well costs vary widely with depth, age and location.
Reclamation Backlog Over Time
Abandoned wells vs reclaimed wells - the true cleanup backlog
Where Alberta's non-producing wells sit today. Idle (suspended) wells are upstream of the reclamation backlog - each must be decommissioned before it can be reclaimed - so they feed it over time rather than being counted in it.
Over the past 10 years (2017-2026): On average, 6,031 wells are abandoned per year, while 3,732 wells are reclaimed.
This means the reclamation backlog grows by approximately 2,299 wells each year.
These abandoned wells are already decommissioned, so the work still owed is surface reclamation. At the Orphan Well Association's average reclamation cost of $27,700 per site1, that is approximately $64 million in reclamation liability accruing annually.
Beyond that backlog, Alberta has 64,561 suspended (idle) wells not yet decommissioned - each will eventually need both sealing and reclamation, adding to the province's estimated end-of-life liability.
1 Orphan Well Association - Annual Report (2025/26) - Average reclamation cost $27,700/site (decommissioning, a further $28,800, is already complete on abandoned wells).
Operator Statistics
| Operator- | Total | Active- | Suspended | Abandoned | Reclaimed- | Rate- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Natural Resources Limited(0HE9) | 119,121 | 51,742 | 20,009 | 25,210 | 20,402 | 43.1% |
| Cenovus Energy Inc.(A5D4) | 40,101 | 10,229 | 5,708 | 7,225 | 15,610 | 64.6% |
| Ipc Canada Ltd.(A868) | 16,551 | 13,068 | 927 | 2,327 | 229 | 9.0% |
| Imperial Oil Resources Limited(0007) | 13,608 | 4,660 | 1,526 | 1,773 | 2,465 | 33.2% |
| Suncor Energy Inc.(0054) | 13,257 | 2,058 | 306 | 2,195 | 5,025 | 46.1% |
| Ember Resources Inc.(A1H9) | 12,400 | 10,257 | 422 | 988 | 727 | 42.2% |
| Canlin Energy Corporation(A7M1) | 9,710 | 6,218 | 467 | 1,398 | 1,094 | 36.2% |
| ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp.(A5G3) | 8,983 | 1,272 | 61 | 776 | 5,825 | 76.1% |
| Tourmaline Oil Corp.(A573) | 8,039 | 4,876 | 964 | 1,148 | 972 | 44.2% |
| Obsidian Energy Ltd.(0BP8) | 7,622 | 3,187 | 721 | 1,557 | 1,803 | 48.5% |
| Baytex Energy Ltd.(0RL9) | 7,466 | 4,497 | 1,118 | 1,024 | 785 | 42.4% |
| Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd.(A04N) | 7,207 | 6,546 | 214 | 337 | 109 | 24.4% |
| Ovintiv Canada ULC(0026) | 7,049 | 1,570 | 726 | 2,144 | 2,469 | 52.0% |
| Peyto Exploration & Development Corp.(0YA2) | 7,004 | 3,202 | 389 | 245 | 2,536 | 74.3% |
| Whitecap Resources Inc.(A5BE) | 6,925 | 3,418 | 1,487 | 1,255 | 742 | 36.7% |
| Pine Cliff Energy Ltd.(A1GR) | 6,807 | 4,235 | 708 | 1,581 | 264 | 14.2% |
| Lynx Energy ULC(A7AG) | 6,724 | 6,224 | 121 | 276 | 101 | 26.6% |
| TAQA North Ltd.(A2TG) | 6,617 | 2,594 | 799 | 1,038 | 2,088 | 64.8% |
| Spur Petroleum Ltd.(A7GR) | 6,032 | 5,518 | 207 | 157 | 149 | 48.5% |
| Cardinal Energy Ltd.(A6A7) | 4,943 | 2,805 | 962 | 879 | 233 | 19.8% |
| InPlay Oil Corp.(A6JK) | 4,460 | 1,563 | 1,909 | 520 | 321 | 32.5% |
| BP Canada Energy Group ULC(A62D) | 4,432 | 20 | 0 | 33 | 2,565 | 58.1% |
| Long Run Exploration Ltd.(A517) | 4,379 | 1,211 | 1,872 | 1,096 | 197 | 15.2% |
| Surge Energy Inc.(0YK4) | 4,165 | 1,615 | 702 | 1,688 | 158 | 8.6% |
| Paramount Resources Ltd.(0AW4) | 4,077 | 1,067 | 892 | 714 | 1,350 | 63.7% |
| Gulf Canada Limited(0002) | 3,899 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 700 | 18.1% |
| AlphaBow Energy Ltd.(A7H2) | 3,766 | 1,027 | 1,100 | 1,508 | 130 | 7.9% |
| Karve Energy Inc.(A7BT) | 3,759 | 1,800 | 856 | 820 | 281 | 25.5% |
| Devon Canada Corporation(0K29) | 3,747 | 108 | 0 | 1 | 2,945 | 80.9% |
| West Lake Energy Corp.(A7H7) | 3,726 | 1,317 | 955 | 1,196 | 258 | 17.7% |
| CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC(A6LC) | 3,717 | 1,084 | 120 | 432 | 1,646 | 65.5% |
| Syncrude Canada Ltd.(0362) | 3,669 | 83 | 0 | 968 | 302 | 8.4% |
| Harvest Operations Corp.(0Z0H) | 3,612 | 513 | 633 | 2,115 | 344 | 13.9% |
| Shell Canada Limited(0T03) | 3,600 | 381 | 73 | 131 | 490 | 15.6% |
| Headwater Exploration Inc.(A8DL) | 3,316 | 2,977 | 226 | 113 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Chevron Canada Limited(0045) | 3,235 | 46 | 0 | 4 | 508 | 15.9% |
| Sequoia Resources Corp.(0Z5F) | 3,063 | 1 | 1,673 | 1,027 | 360 | 25.9% |
| ARC Resources Ltd.(0G30) | 3,045 | 2,000 | 353 | 245 | 381 | 55.1% |
| Canadian Natural Upgrading Limited(A7K5) | 3,004 | 1,159 | 399 | 562 | 884 | 61.1% |
| Strathcona Resources Ltd.(A8FG) | 2,860 | 1,135 | 272 | 774 | 647 | 44.5% |
| Vermilion Energy Inc.(A6FW) | 2,764 | 1,382 | 643 | 604 | 119 | 16.1% |
| Blue Sky Resources Ltd.(A7XK) | 2,737 | 593 | 856 | 1,024 | 256 | 19.9% |
| Journey Energy Inc.(A2PH) | 2,628 | 1,173 | 551 | 443 | 439 | 48.6% |
| Rubellite Energy Inc.(A8N9) | 2,438 | 2,027 | 203 | 142 | 65 | 31.3% |
| Teine Energy Ltd.(A5L8) | 2,357 | 1,557 | 243 | 165 | 354 | 63.5% |
| Prairie Provident Resources Canada Ltd.(0T82) | 2,317 | 324 | 436 | 1,020 | 527 | 33.9% |
| City Of Medicine Hat(0150) | 2,193 | 620 | 75 | 1,044 | 436 | 29.1% |
| Ricochet Oil Corp.(A8K9) | 2,171 | 1,216 | 326 | 497 | 124 | 19.7% |
| Caltex Trilogy Inc.(A8RK) | 2,163 | 1,780 | 109 | 264 | 10 | 3.6% |
| Bonterra Energy Corp.(0XZ4) | 2,134 | 901 | 433 | 744 | 43 | 5.4% |
This is why we built Phaseview.
The scale of Alberta's reclamation challenge demands better tools. We're building them.
Data sourced from Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) public well licence records.
Statistics are updated daily. Individual operator data may be subject to corporate name changes and transfers.