Well, What’s the Difference?
The Alberta Energy Regulator requires companies to ensure environmental and public safety of oil and gas wells and that they are responsible for the costs of cleaning up.
Wells have been on the tip of many Albertans’ tongues as of late. That’s because Alberta has a lot of them—over a century of oil and gas development in the province has given…
Getting Down and Dirty for Research
EnvironmentAER staff slog in the muck to collect samples for study
Sometimes it’s a dirty job. Last fall, the AER and Alberta Health kicked off a study to discover what substances are present during the “flowback” phase of hydraulic…
Tag: Environment
A Virtual Visit to Subterranean Alberta
TechnologyAGS showcases Alberta’s geology in Minecraft series
Sometimes, our best ideas come from the unlikeliest of places. For Kelsey MacCormack, director of mapping and modelling at the Alberta Geological Survey (AGS), a branch of…
Tag: Technology
Clearing the Air
EnvironmentPartners respond to report recommendations to improve air quality for residents in Fort McKay
Flying towards Fort McKay over the dense mass of trees, your eye can’t help but follow the curving Athabasca River and dart around complex oil sands operations before getting…
Tag: Environment
First Tailings Pond Reclaimed
In the NewsWhat was once a tailings pond is now a scenic lookout
Fifty years after its opening, Alberta’s first oil sands tailings pond is now the province’s first reclaimed tailings pond—a big deal for a big parcel of land. The 220-…
Tag: In the News
How the AGS went high-tech to upgrade Turtle Mountain’s early warning system
The mountain is moving. Likely a sentence you’d rather not hear, regardless of where you are in the world. But it’s a reality for residents of the Crowsnest Pass area in…
Tag: Technology
Why We Give a Dam
EnvironmentHow much do you know about the dams used in energy development?
Whether for canoeing or kayaking, ice fishing or paddle boarding, Albertans everywhere flock to the lake year-round for outdoor fitness and fun. What some don’t know is that…
Tag: Environment
Drilling Deeper
TechnologyFive things to know about in situ oil sands development
Oil sands development conjures images of giant trucks and shovels toiling in massive, open-pit mines. The fact is, over half of the production from Alberta’s oil sands occurs…
Tag: Technology
How the West was Won: Alberta’s First Oil Well
Good to KnowIn 1902, the Lineham Discovery Well No. 1 became Western Canada’s First Oil Producing Well
When driving along the scenic Akamina Parkway through Waterton Lakes National Park, it’s hard to believe early entrepreneurs struck oil in the rustic valley over a century…
Tag: Good to Know
“A Witch’s Brew of Methane, Hydrogen Sulphide, and Liquid Hydrocarbon Vapour”
Safety and EnforcementAlberta’s worst-ever well blowout was capped 35 years ago this week
On a chilly December 23, 1982, teams from Texas-based Boots & Coots and Canadian well-control specialists Safety Boss snuffed out one of the worst well blowouts in…
Tag: Safety and Enforcement
Waste Not, Want Not
EnvironmentSpraying drilling waste on fields puts dirt back to the earth from which it came
When an oil company proposed spraying drilling waste on Jeff Fluney’s fields, his response was an understandable “no.” But when the company came knocking again the next year…
Tag: Environment