Program to clean up inactive Saskatchewan oil and gas sites to create 2,100 jobs. In 4 days there were 18,000 applications.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Good move on the part of the Saskatchewan government, 2 thumbs up.

Unfortunately, there are already 18,000 applications for 2,100 jobs.

But it's a great move in the right direction.

2 article below, on the topic:

 

Program to clean up inactive Saskatchewan oil and gas sites to create 2,100 jobs

The Saskatchewan government is launching its Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP) to help people get back to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s a reclamation program that deals with abandoned, inactive oil and gas wells and facilities.

Through the federal COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the ASCP will access up to $400 million over the next two years.

It’s being overseen by the Ministry of Energy and Resources and delivered in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC).

The province says the program will deal with 8,000 inactive wells and facilities, creating 2,100 full-time jobs.

“We have worked hard to develop a common sense, administratively simple program that creates much-needed jobs in the struggling oil and gas sector,” Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said.

“The ASCP will accelerate the retirement of wells and facilities, which have reached the end of their life cycle, and complete a substantial amount of environmentally important work in a short period of time. For that, we would like to acknowledge the support of the federal government.”

The program is being rolled out in a number of phases. Phase 1 will allocate up to $100,000 in funding to service companies working on the wells.

For those accepted into the program, the SRC will provide direct funding, including an initial advance, to service companies for abandonment and reclamation work.

“We’d like to thank the Saskatchewan government for working to implement the ASCP in a timely manner,” Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors president and CEO Mark Scholz said.

“We are excited by the prospect of long-term jobs for CAODC members who have been struggling to keep their employees working and their businesses viable.”

For further detail on the program, visit the government of Saskatchewan’s website.

 

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Oil site cleanup program sees 18,000 applications in 4 days, ‘significantly’ over expectations

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan says interest in a new federally-funded program to put oil industry workers back to work cleaning up abandoned wells in Alberta amid the coronavirus pandemic has been “significantly higher” than expected.

During a virtual meeting of the House of Commons on Tuesday, O’Regan was pressed by Conservatives on why the federal government hasn’t yet released an industrial support package for the energy sector akin to the multi-million-dollar industrial package unveiled earlier that day for the agricultural sector.

In response, O’Regan pointed to the government’s investment of $1.7 billion in funding for B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan natural resource firms to hire energy workers to restore and reclaim well sites.

Of that funding, $1.2 billion went to Alberta and $1 billion went specifically to launching the new Site Reclamation Program, which began taking applications on May 1.

O’Regan’s office referred questions on the program to the Alberta government, while a spokesperson for Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said there have been close to 20,000 applications in four days.

“The Site Rehabilitation Program has seen significant uptake by oilfield service companies to remediate inactive and abandoned wells,” said Kavi Bal, press secretary for Savage.

“By end of day on May 4, more than 530 companies had filled out nearly 18,000 grant applications.”

The goal described on the program website is to “get Alberta’s specialized oil and gas labour force back to work” and speed up environmental efforts to reclaim abandoned oil and gas project sites.

It comes on the heels of years of devastation in the Alberta oil and gas sector caused by low crude prices and difficulty getting resources to market, combined more recently with the economic shutdown of the coronavirus pandemic and a global price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

During a virtual meeting of the House of Commons finance committee Tuesday afternoon, one oil industry representative warned that while the well cleanup work is a “welcome start” to federal support for oil industry workers, the sector’s challenges are only growing more serious.

 

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

It's a good idea. A stimulus / make-work project that also cleans up the oil industries' mess.

Phase 1 is 100 million (not $100,000 which would do nothing).

 

Perfect example of how taxpayers end up on the hook for industry... yet again.  How about we use tax money to pay for a pipeline too while we are at it? oh wait we already did.

The oil industry is incredibly subsidized by government. 

I still like it though, it's a better idea than just handing out money as at least some filth gets cleaned up.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

People may note that the federal Liberals have transferred more $ to Alberta in the last 4 years than the Conservatives did in 10 years, and got pipeline construction going.  Cons are all talk no action. 

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Enthalpic