Safety & Enforcement
Keeping a Lid on It
Caprock is key to ensuring fluids remain underground
If you were to look at a cross section of the subsurface geology, it might resemble a multi-layered cake. But instead of icing and chocolate, you’d find mudstone, silt, and sand layers—sand layers… Read more
Seeking the Sound of Silence
AER requirements keep energy industry noise in check
If you’re in the noise business, what do you value most in your free time? Quiet. “Overall I’m a sensitive guy, and I work on noise,” Jason Cao says with a smile. “When I’m not working, I really want… Read more
A 360-Degree Perspective
“Super inspection” puts Alberta’s energy facilities to the test
It’s not “business as usual” to see 34 coverall-clad inspectors crawling over one energy site in less than a week, but it soon will be. Earlier this year, staff from three branches of the Alberta… Read more
Blast from the Past: Atlantic No. 3
This week 68 years ago, Alberta’s biggest blowout gasped its final bre…
Almost seven decades ago, a drilling rig towering high over an empty field ignited more than just the ground it stood on.
Pouring over the Spill
AER investigators will probe causes of the Fox Creek pipeline release
Like all Albertans, word of a pipeline spill creates concern about the protection of safety and the environment. For AER employees it means moving quickly the minute the call comes in. So earlier… Read more
Laying Down the Law in the Oilpatch
Prosecution is one option when companies skirt the AER’s rules
With over 174 000 operating wells, 431 000 kilometres of pipeline, 9 oil sands mines, more than 50 in situ oil sands sites, and over 50 000 oil and gas facilities, policing Alberta’s energy industry… Read more
After the Guilty Plea
Alberta court sentences Apache for incidents
We've all watched enough movies to know that the guilty plea is often the beginning of the story. What comes after—the judge’s decision—is where people’s interest can really peak. This week, an… Read more
Big or Small, We Inspect Them All
The AER ensures dams used in oil sands and coal development are safe
They can be as small as a swimming pool or as big as a lake. Regardless, it’s up to the AER to make sure the structures that contain them are sound. Most of the dams in the AER’s jurisdiction hold… Read more
Alberta Takes Action on Odour, Air Quality Concern…
New study makes 17 recommendations to address concerns
For years, Fort McKay First Nation has voiced concerns about air quality and odours from oil sands operations and questioned whether current monitoring, response protocols, and thresholds are… Read more
Paying the Price
Energy companies can face financial penalties when things go wrong
When companies don’t follow the AER’s rules, they face enforcement. Our enforcement tools can include shutting in operations, more frequent and detailed inspections, more stringent planning… Read more
