Alberta company falsified documents relating to well abandonment and reclaimation

[revelations]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lian-...dent-2b348717/

[ipeefreely]

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Very serious warning letter

I hope one of those never shows up in my inbox I don't think I could handle it.....


202011-23

202011-24


Good thing the AER laid off a bunch of staff. Trusting companies always works out!

[schurchill39]

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Shady Chinese money doing illegal things?

Quelle surprise.

QFT. This is why we are always so cautious working for small Chinese companies. There are some good ones, and we've got a few great contacts in that community but its always dicey. This does not come as a surprise at all and the shittiest part of the article is that it helps fuel the "oil and gas companies don't care about the environment" narrative and "the AER doesn't protect our land worth shit". I think the AER is a pain in my back as much as the next guy but I would have expected way harsher punishment than a sternly worded letter.

[lasimmon]

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Oh if I had my way we would squeeze every penny out of the owners of those wells and lock up everyone who touched the paper trail of the fraudulent reports. But my opinion doesn’t mean much and I do figure the AER would have done something if they thought they had a chance in hell of fixing the issue.

At least the people involved will be on the newly developed list. They will be done in the industry here in Alberta. One thing the AER has finally started doing correctly.


But it happens a lot. Poor landowner I was dealing with this week will never see a rec cert because Husky scammed their way to getting one without cutting off their wellhead and won’t ever come back to do anything. So sucks to own that land I guess.

- - - Updated - - -

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QFT. This is why we are always so cautious working for small Chinese companies. There are some good ones, and we've got a few great contacts in that community but its always dicey. This does not come as a surprise at all and the shittiest part of the article is that it helps fuel the "oil and gas companies don't care about the environment" narrative and "the AER doesn't protect our land worth shit". I think the AER is a pain in my back as much as the next guy but I would have expected way harsher punishment than a sternly worded letter.

This made me chuckle.

[Brent.ff]

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At least the people involved will be on the newly developed list. They will be done in the industry here in Alberta. One thing the AER has finally started doing correctly. .

I don’t think they get on any ‘bad list’ that keeps them out of the industry as all they got is a ‘record of enforcement for future issues’. There are zero consequences hinted at here

“ Warning letter issued. This will form part of Aeraden Energy Corp.’s enforcement history and may be taken into consideration should future contraventions occur.”

This is an embarrassing statement by AER. We have a set timeline to investigate, there was too much to investigate so here’s your letter vs fine..

“ The AER considers this matter to be very serious. With additional time and investigation, it is likely that a more significant enforcement action would have been taken by the AER; however, due to the proximity of the November 22, 2020 limitation date, the AER has decided to issue a warning letter. Therefore, in consideration of the findings and conclusions identified by the investigation, this warning letter is the enforcement action for these contraventions and closes this investigation. This warning letter will form part of Aeraden Energy Corp.’s enforcement history and may be taken into consideration should future contraventions occur”

[lasimmon]

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I don’t think they get on any ‘bad list’ that keeps them out of the industry as all they got is a ‘record of enforcement for future issues’. There are zero consequences hinted at here

“ Warning letter issued. This will form part of Aeraden Energy Corp.’s enforcement history and may be taken into consideration should future contraventions occur.”

I’ve heard recently there is a list and saw first hand someone get denied some wells via regulatory directed transfer because of their previous involvement in failed companies. Not sure the exact details but they are finally coming around apparently.

[schurchill39]

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I’ve heard recently there is a list and saw first hand someone get denied some wells via regulatory directed transfer because of their previous involvement in failed companies. Not sure the exact details but they are finally coming around apparently.

I really really hope that this is true.

[e31]

The negative exposure gained by being listed in this thread is the only punishment anyone will ever see. Look at that, a google spider crawling all over Aeraden Energy Corp. If you're affiliated with them, better start governing yourself accordingly.

[davidI]

As much as I support the energy industry in Alberta/Canada, well abandonment and orphaned wells deeply concern me.

It's the clearest example of wealthy industrialists dumping their issues/costs on tax-payers that I can think of in Alberta. These guys should be in prison.

[SKR]

You can send the fucker an email if you want. [email protected]

Greg,

I have read your letters to Aeraden Energy Corp and CEPro Energy and Environmental Services Inc. You closed both letters with, "If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected] or by phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX." I don't know if anyone involved with those two companies have any questions, but as an Albertan I've got one.

WTF?

The accusations sound serious, and the punishment appears toothless. What have you done to ensure that Albertans' rights are protected? I'm not at all confident based on these two decisions that any energy company has any incentive to follow any regulations.

I look forward to your template response.

Thanks.

SKRNN is hard hitting investigative journalism.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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I think Apega has more options for punishments with teeth against these companies than the AER does.

I wonder if any of them will have to verify their CPD hours. Shit would be getting serious, then!

[Euro_Trash]

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It is a common practice for operating companies to have similar ownership to service companies, and to have close operating relationships as well.

Common practice is likely a stretch - I was racking my brain and I can only think of 2 in my experience (Murray Edwards and the other one isn't public so I won't disclose).

[ExtraSlow]

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Common practice is likely a stretch - I was racking my brain and I can only think of 2 in my experience (Murray Edwards and the other one isn't public so I won't disclose).

You are thinking too big and too long term. But the last ~10 years, a lot of money has flowed into the Canadian oilpatch from what we used to call "non-traditional investors" and those investors have bought or started dozens of operating and service companies with that money. The ownership has a lot of overlap. Maybe not big names, but more the size of the companies listed in that article.

[msommers]

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I wonder if any of them will have to verify their CPD hours. Shit would be getting serious, then!

The real shit hits the fan when you call yourself an Engineer or Geologist on LinkedIn and you haven't paid your dues yet for the year. Someone will call you, addressing themself as "Dr. Xxxx xxxx, P.Eng, PhD" threatening to take legal action if you don't change your online title or pay immediately. Don't ask me how I know.

APEGA is essentially a power tripping hall monitor who arguably hasn't done anything since Bre-X.

[killramos]

Real gold when you get an “audit” full of LinkedIn screen shots.

[Type_S1]

Color me shocked that a Chinese owned company buying dogshit assets would ever do something like this. A large portion of Chinese money (excluding the major NOC’s) that has been put in Alberta O&G was done so with fraudulent intent anyways (tax evasion, buying a BS asset base to IPO companies on the Chinese stock exchange for other fraudulent purposes, getting money out of China, etc.). I know quite a few Canadians that got involved with these companies and the stories are crazy.

I sent a message on LinkedIn to this fraudster calling her out - will post a response if I get one. People like this should be facing severe criminal charges and be in jail. Nothing less is an acceptable punishment in my view. Anyone who defrauds taxpayers deserves to be in jail, including the Canadian owned companies doing it as well. The AER and OWA have done a piss poor job at regulating abandonment and reclamation across the province for decades and now, like most everything else, the younger generation will have to pay for the boomers BS schemes.

[lasimmon]

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Color me shocked that a Chinese owned company buying dogshit assets would ever do something like this. A large portion of Chinese money (excluding the major NOC’s) that has been put in Alberta O&G was done so with fraudulent intent anyways (tax evasion, buying a BS asset base to IPO companies on the Chinese stock exchange for other fraudulent purposes, getting money out of China, etc.). I know quite a few Canadians that got involved with these companies and the stories are crazy.

I sent a message on LinkedIn to this fraudster calling her out - will post a response if I get one. People like this should be facing severe criminal charges and be in jail. Nothing less is an acceptable punishment in my view. Anyone who defrauds taxpayers deserves to be in jail, including the Canadian owned companies doing it as well. The AER and OWA have done a piss poor job at regulating abandonment and reclamation across the province for decades and now, like most everything else, the younger generation will have to pay for the boomers BS schemes.

I would lay a lot of blame on industry itself.

[killramos]

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I would lay a lot of blame on industry itself.

I mean, that’s an interesting statement an industry process that 99% of the time does it all correctly, but some Chinese scumbag owners took advantage for personal gain and are making everyone look bad.

How many of the orphan well environmental mismanagement headlines in the past few years have had to do with trash Chinese owned shitco’s?

Sequoia, Lexin, Aereden, heck even Husky or CNOOC - I guess all those examples are representative of the industry as a whole?

If you want to paint anyone with a wide brush, it’s pretty tough not to paint the Chinese owned companies with a brush literally dipped in shit

[lasimmon]

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I mean, that’s an interesting statement an industry process that 99% of the time does it all correctly, but some Chinese scumbag owners took advantage for personal gain and are making everyone look bad.

How many of the orphan well environmental mismanagement headlines in the past few years have had to do with trash Chinese owned shitco’s?

Sequoia, Lexin, Aereden, heck even Husky or CNOOC - I guess all those examples are representative of the industry as a whole?

If you want to paint anyone with a wide brush, it’s pretty tough not to paint the Chinese owned companies with a brush literally dipped in shit

Industry wants a weak AER with minimal enforcement - or at least they have in the past. Things are slowly coming around.

Where do these shitco's get their wells from? Everything is above board there too right? Perpetual just got let off the hook today. AER should be all over deals like that and denying them. Industry should be pushing them to deny deals like that.

How many companies are operating right now where the C suite/Boards were involved in companies that are now with the OWA?

[msommers]

We should have stayed like the Wild West of Texas and stop pretending regulation is a high-end thing. At least in Texas they stand by it with their saying, "jackrabbits don't have lawyers."