Road Allowances - Wells Frequently Asked Questions

A company is allowed to drill a maximum of 15 metres beyond their leased rights, in accordance with the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) Guide 56. This is only to set logging tools, so that information can be obtained down to the base of the leased zones, although you cannot produce from the over hole portion of the wellbore. 

Applications for additional over hole must be supported by geological data with substantive (non-economic) reasons for the additional depth required.  Logging tools were developed to fit into the 15 metre allowable over hole and with these tools the geological contacts can be imaged.

 

As soon as your agreement was cancelled the well vested in the Crown. If the wellbore is classified at the time of cancellation as an injection or disposal well, the well still vests but you are automatically given authorization to use the wellbore for that purpose. 

When an agreement or portion of an agreement is cancelled, the well vests immediately to the Crown under Section 32 of the Mines and Minerals Act. The following table will help you determine which form or letter you need to submit based on the well status.

Well Status	Department Form	Additional Requirements
Abandoned	Request for Well Re-entry Authorization	Applicant must have all surface approvals (Mineral Surface Lease, Emergency Response Plans etc.) before applying for re-entry approval
Suspended, or Drilled &	Either a letter to the department requesting the well be linked to the corresponding mineral agreement OR If you have received a Declaration Document from the ERCB, complete Part 1A of the Document requesting a Well Link Tenure Forms	Applicant must be the well licensee. The department will not link the well to another active agreement, until the ERCB has transferred the well licence.

 

When Tenure cancels an agreement or deletes a section of land from an agreement that contains a well, the lessee would be advised that the wellbore can no longer be used. The well licensee is also advised. At the same time, Tenure advises the ERCB of this fact. Since you no longer hold an active agreement the wellbore vests to the Crown and the ERCB would then advise you of your options. One of them is to abandon the wellbore. 

When a lease is cancelled and it contains either a injection or a disposal well, you are automatically given authorization to use the wellbore for that purpose. You retain the rights to the wellbore as long as you continue to use it for those purposes. You will only need to abandon the well when you cease to use it for injection or disposal. Neither purpose requires you to retain your P & NG lease. 

Who you should apply to for approval to re-enter an abandoned well depends on whether the well has vested to the Crown or not. If the P&NG Agreement has been cancelled, or the section that the well was drilled on has been deleted from the Agreement, then the well has vested in the Crown. You would need to contact the Department of Energy, Crown Equity [Fax: 780-422-0382] for permission to use the well. Information Letter 97-26 outlines the process, and there is a Re-entry Application Form to assist you in making this application. You must tell us what you wish to use the well for and you must indemnify the Crown. There is no cost to acquire the use of a well that has vested. If the well has not vested to the Crown you would then need to contact the well licensee. 

Any use of Crown undisposed land requires prior approval from the department. You would be required to submit technical data, such as submit geological or engineering data, to the Crown to demonstrate that the proposed zone for disposal/injection is non-hydrocarbon bearing. If you intend to use a vested well, permission is also required to use the wellbore. You would also need to follow the Regulations of the ERCB. 

One option on the abandonment form is to allow you to use the wellbore for another agreement than that which it was drilled on. You must fill out the form and fax it to the department. The department will then ensure that the well is linked to your existing document. 

If you can't meet the conditions set out in your approval letter you need to advise us of this prior to expiry, letting us know the circumstances. As there is no extension section in the Mines and Minerals Act for these type of approvals, you will need to re-apply and then we will grant you a new approval. 

If we received two applications almost at the same time, then both companies would be contacted to determine who holds the surface lease. The approval would then be granted to the holder of the surface lease, for without that lease, the wellbore can't be accessed. If neither hold the surface lease we would not grant authorization to either party until the situation was resolved. 

You do not need to apply, if you are drilling a Water source or observation/monitoring well that is less than 150m in depth and the well is not intended to encounter or produce hydrocarbons. 

No prior approval is required if the zone is leased as to one of the substances in which you wish to conduct operations. Note: Prior approval is required if the Crown rights are entirely undisposed. To request approval please complete and submit the form found in Tenure Forms.