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Notice of Hearing
Proceeding ID 400
Darren O’Brien and Jeffrey Young (former directors of Trident Exploration (Alberta) Corp. and Trident Exploration (WX) Corp.)
Section 106(1) Declarations

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will hold a public hearing of regulatory appeals 1928568 and 1928569, being appeals of the AER's decision to issue declarations under section 106(1) of the Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA) naming Darren O'Brien and Jeffrey Young, former directors of Trident Exploration (Alberta) Corp. and Trident Exploration (WX) Corp.

Description of the Applications

The AER received requests for regulatory appeal of the decision of the AER's Compliance and Liability Management Branch on October 9, 2019, to issue declarations under section 106(1) of the OGCA naming Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Young and imposing restrictions on them.

The requests were made by Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Young on November 8, 2019 under Division 3 of the Responsible Energy Development Act and Part 3 of the Alberta Energy Regulator Rules of Practice (Rules of Practice.

The AER granted the requests for the regulatory appeal on May 4, 2020 and referred the matter to hearing.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether the AER should confirm, vary, suspend, or revoke its decision to issue the declarations.

If the requests for regulatory appeal are withdrawn, the hearing will be cancelled.

Where can I find information about the hearing?

To view or receive a copy of the hearing materials, or for information on AER procedures, contact

Tara Wheaton, Hearing Coordinator
Alberta Energy Regulator
Suite 1000, 250 – 5 Street SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4
E-mail: @email
Phone: 403-297-8288

How can I apply to participate in the hearing?

Darren O’Brien, Jeffrey Young, and AER Compliance and Liability Management Branch are parties to this regulatory appeal. As parties, they may participate in the hearing and do not need to submit a request to participate. However, they must confirm their intention to participate in the hearing and the nature and scope of their participation to the hearing coordinator no later than noon on July 7, 2020.

If you are not already a party to the regulatory appeal and want to participate in the hearing, you must submit a written request to participate. Requests to participate are placed on the public record of this proceeding.

Your request to participate must contain

  • a copy of your statement of concern, if applicable;
  • a concise statement indicating
    • why you may be directly and adversely affected by a decision of the AER on the regulatory appeal, or
    • if you will not be directly and adversely affected by a decision of the AER on the regulatory appeal, explain
      • what the nature of your interest in the matter is and why you should be permitted to participate,
      • how your participation will materially assist the AER in deciding the subject matter of the regulatory appeal,
      • how you have a tangible interest in the subject matter of the regulatory appeal,
      • how your participation will not unnecessarily delay the regulatory appeal, and
      • how you will not repeat or duplicate the evidence presented by the other parties in the regulatory appeal;
  • the outcome of the regulatory appeal that you advocate;
  • the nature and scope of your intended participation;
  • your contact information;
  • if you have a representative, their contact information;
  • if you are acting on behalf of a group or association of persons, the nature of your membership in the group or association; and
  • your efforts, if any, to resolve issues associated with the proceeding directly with the party requesting the appeal or the approval holder, as the case may be.

Send the request to the hearing coordinator. Submissions should be PDF documents with bookmarks, page numbers, and optical character recognition.

Filing deadlines

July 7, 2020 Final date to file a request to participate.
July 16, 2020 Final date for the parties to submit responses to any request to participate.

Is this a public process?

Yes. Section 49 of the Rules of Practice requires that all documents and information filed for a proceeding be placed on the public record. You must not include any personal information that you do not want to appear on or are not authorized to put on the public record. You should assume that anything you submit will be available online to the public. Section 49(2) of the Rules of Practice states how to apply to the AER for an order to keep information confidential.

Issued at Calgary, Alberta, on June 17, 2020.
ALBERTA ENERGY REGULATOR