Release Date
Today, per Ministerial Order 10/2026 (included at the end of this bulletin), we released a new edition of Directive 060: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring, Incinerating, and Venting. This directive sets out requirements for flaring, incinerating, and venting in Alberta at all upstream petroleum industry wells and facilities.
We have revised the directive as follows:
- Section 7.3 (Ignition): Added requirements for all permanent and temporary flares installed, replaced, or relocated on or after January 1, 2030, to have a system or engineered controls to ensure automatic or continuous ignition. Additionally, requirements were added specifying the need for a preventive maintenance program to inspect and maintain flare stacks and repair any malfunctioning systems.
- Section 8.6.3 (Vent Gas Limits for Glycol Dehydrators): Added the requirement to conserve or control methane emissions from glycol dehydrators that are installed, replaced, or relocated on or after January 1, 2030.
- Section 8.10.3 (Fugitive Emissions Screening): Added the requirement, effective January 1, 2030, for fugitive emissions screenings every two weeks on all active flares. Flares with a system or engineered controls that ensure automatic or continuous ignition are exempt.
- Section 8.10.5 (Reporting): Added the requirement that starting January 1, 2030, the duty holder must report the volume of unlit flare gas monthly.
- Section 8.11 (Methane Emissions Record Keeping): Added the requirement for the duty holder to retain records of biweekly flare stack screenings and maintenance activities.
The revised edition of the directive is available on the Directive 060 landing page. If you have any questions, contact our Customer Contact Centre by phone at 1-855-297-8311 or by email at inquiries@aer.ca.
