Several changes to the Alberta and Saskatchewan oil and gas regulatory regimes in December 2020 and April 2021 will have impacts on companies operating in the two western Canadian provinces. Following the well-publicized decision in Orphan Well Ass'n v. Grant Thornton Ltd., 2019 SCC 5, and with both provinces experiencing an increasing number of distressed oil and gas assets, both provincial governments have made or are making changes to their liability management regimes as they relate to oil and gas. Building on this, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has also made changes to reporting requirements for licensees in the province. These changes are designed to improve the ability of the AER and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources (MER) to hold oil and gas operators accountable for their liabilities.
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