Safety & Enforcement
Why the Earth Moves in Fox Creek
The AER is studying how oil and gas activity triggers seismic activity
Residents of Fox Creek felt the ground tremble on January 12, 2016. The reason: a 4.8 magnitude (ML) earthquake just 35 km from the northern Alberta town. The quake was the fourth over 4 ML to shake… Read more
Sniffing Out Sour Gas
Air monitoring units detect and measure harmful gases
Regulating energy operations isn’t limited to what’s going on above and below ground – it also applies to the air we breathe. The AER’s two air-monitoring units (AMUs), which measure gas… Read more
Dispatches from the Fort McMurray Wildfires: “In T…
Jeff Hughes, a regional coordinator with the AER in the Fort McMurray Field Office, talks about his experience as fires ravaged the city in May, and how the AER is getting back to business in the… Read more
What the AER Doesn’t Regulate
Knowing what we don’t regulate is just as important as knowing what we do. The Government of Alberta has given us the job of ensuring oil and gas is developed safely for people and the environment,… Read more
Dispatches from the Fort McMurray Wildfires: “You…
The AER is accustomed to responding to emergencies such as well blowouts and pipeline spills. But sometimes we’re called upon to intervene during natural disasters, as was the case with the recent… Read more
Incident Command On Wheels
When a large pipeline has a spill or major well blowout strikes, Alberta needs on-the-go response tools. The AER’s mobile incident command (MIC) trailer is one of the tools we use to ensure energy… Read more
Coming Together to Go Further
When the world comes a-knocking for regulator expertise, the AER opens…
When energy regulation began in Alberta almost 80 years ago, it had no environmental specialists, hearing commissioners, or engagement experts—they came much later as the organization adapted and… Read more
Dispatches from the Fort McMurray wildfires
The AER is accustomed to responding to emergencies such as well blowouts and pipeline spills. But sometimes we’re called upon to intervene during natural disasters, as was the case with the recent… Read more
Leader of the Pack
Rondine Cabot’s story represents one of the 11,216 inspections the AER conducted in fiscal 2015-16. AER staff wield significant power when it comes to ensuring Alberta’s energy industry follows the… Read more
Shining a Light on Industry and the AER
Regulating an industry is about more than having tough rules in place; it’s also about communicating how those rules are being enforced. The AER’s compliance dashboard aims to do just that. Created… Read more