ER Announces Increased Scrutiny And New Requirements For Licensees

On December 6, 2017, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) announced the release of a new edition of Directive 067: Eligibility Requirements for Acquiring and Holding Energy Licences and Approvals (the updated Directive 067). The AER's stated intention in releasing the updated Directive 067 is to ensure that the "privilege" of holding an AER licence or approval "is only granted to, and retained by, responsible parties."

There are several significant changes contained in the updated Directive 067.

First, the updated Directive 067 has added a new basic requirement for licence eligibility: that in "the AER's opinion, the applicant does not pose an unreasonable risk." This new requirement provides the AER with broad discretion to determine whether an applicant poses an unreasonable risk. Factors that may be considered by the AER in assessing an applicant's risk include compliance history (including that of its directors, officers, shareholders and affiliates);