Continuations Frequently Asked Questions

We try to keep the number of meetings to a minimum because they are very time-consuming compared to the normal review of an application. However, if your application is very complicated, or of particular importance to your company, or even if it involves a very large amount of data, then you are welcome to come to Edmonton and present your application in person.  Your application will be responded to in approximately one month.

Meetings are also important learning tools if you are unfamiliar with the continuation process. You can see first hand how the geologist looks at the information you submit, and what other information might be needed.

Applications can be faxed it to us at 780-422-1123. If you are sending us an application without any supporting data then please do not mail the original to us as well - that just adds to our workload and delays our response to you. If you are sending us a package of information, and are faxing the form to us to ensure that you don't miss the expiry date, be sure to check the appropriate box in Part 1 of the form.

If you require confirmation that an application has been received in the Department, you must submit the application in a traceable manner - eg: the application may be delivered to the Department of Energy Office in Calgary and a copy stamped for your records. The office is located on the third floor of Monenco Place, 801 - 6th Avenue South West in Calgary, phone 403-297-6324. When you fax an application, keep the record sheet from your fax in case you need to confirm the date fax was sent

Telephone enquiries asking us to confirm receipt of an application, disrupt the application review process and cause delays, and should be avoided except in case of emergency.

All applications go through the same basic process:

• Administrative review- your application is attached to the appropriate file and is reviewed:
  • to determine whether a geological review is necessary;
  • to determine whether any essential information has not been included (such as confidential well data);
  • to ensure you are applying for lands and rights within your lease;
  • to ensure that you are eligible to apply (ie: you are either the designated representative, or you have been authorized to apply by the designated representative)
• Geological review- if necessary, the file and application are forwarded to our Geology team. A geologist determines the extent of productivity or potential productivity, based on the information provided with the application, in accordance with the Department's current policies. Refer to the "Technical Guidelines for Continuation" for more information on the technical review of an application.
• Preparation of response- the file and application are returned to Continuations. An administrator reviews the application and the geologist's advice, ensures that current administrative business rules have been complied with, and prepares a letter to the applicant and/or the designated representative. This letter may be an offer, if we disagree with your application, or it may be a confirmation of continuation if we are continuing the agreement in accordance with your application.
• Request for review of decision- if we have disagreed with your application, the letter that we send you gives you one month to ask for a review of the decision, or until the expiry date of the agreement, whichever is the greater. If you submit a request for review during that time, the original application is re-examined together with the new information to determine whether there are grounds for a different decision.
• Final confirmation of continuation or expiry- if the agreement has already expired, the Department's letter addressing the request for review, is final. If the agreement has not yet expired, you have until midnight on the expiry date to conduct further operations to prove that the agreement is productive and to submit an application.

The only guaranteed way of getting an answer in time is to apply for an Advance Ruling. To do this, you must apply at least two months before expiry, and you must tell us that you want an Advance Ruling by checking Box 4 in Part 1 of the Application Form. We will then guarantee you a response within one month of receiving your application.

If you have less than two months left before the agreement expires, and you still need an answer urgently, we will try to respond as quickly as possible but we cannot guarantee a response before expiry. This type of request disrupts our workflow and displaces other requests that may have been received earlier, and we discourage them unless they are absolutely necessary.

An application for continuation must be received in the department (either the Edmonton or the Calgary office) on or before midnight of the expiry date in order to be considered a valid application. If it is submitted anytime after midnight of the expiry date it will be considered a late application; subject to the consequences outlined below. The only exception to this rule is when the expiry date falls on a weekend or a statutory holiday, in which case the application must be received in the department on the first working day after the expiry date.

When a late application is received, only the spacing unit is available for continuation pursuant to Section 15(1)(a), (b), (c) or (d). Continuation pursuant to Section 15(1)(e) is not available. A late application fee of $5,000.00 plus GST is required to continue any lands or rights not applied for on time, except where lands are subject to a unit, there is no fee.

If you omit some of the lands or rights of an agreement from an application, they are considered not applied for.

The Department will only accept one application per agreement. This means that you and ABC will have to decide which of you will make the application, and ensure that it addresses all lands and zones that are of importance to you both.

If you make the application, all correspondence will be sent to you (assuming you are the designated representative for the agreement). If you authorize ABC to make the application, any interim correspondence (such as an offer of continuation pursuant to Section 17) will be sent to them but the final letter conveying the continuation decision will be sent to you, with a copy to them.

If ABC is willing for you to see their data, then you can simply submit it with your application. However, if they are not prepared to share it with you, they can submit it separately provided that they enclose an authorization form, authorizing us to use their data in support of your application. You must also authorize us to use that data (Box 3 in Part 3) of the Continuation Application Form. Only when we have written authorization from both you and the other company will we use their data to support your application.

We will not share any of ABC's information with you, nor will we share your data with them.