New Alberta Energy Regulator Reporting Requirements: Implications For Transactions And Borrowing

On April 7, 2021, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released a revised Directive 067: Eligibility Requirements for Acquiring and Holding Energy Licenses and Approvals, which is designed to enhance its ability to ensure that liabilities are properly managed by licensees. This follows other recent measures including amendments to its legislation to increase the ability of the AER to hold working interest participants accountable and to appoint receivers, as well as the introduction of a new liability management framework and licensee capability assessment.

The last amendment to Directive 067 was issued December 6, 2017, following the Court of Appeal's decision in Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton Limited which had upheld the lower court's finding that a receiver could disclaim non-producing wells and their associated liabilities in a receivership. This was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. Those amendments provided for additional