Orphan and Abandoned Wells: OWA Inventory and the Abandoned Registry
The Orphan Well Association inventory plus the AER's plugged and abandoned register, joined to ST37 so a parcel report shows closure liability at a glance.
What it is
Two related signals about closure liability. The Orphan Well Association (OWA) publishes a site-specific inventory of wells whose licensee no longer exists, so the OWA is funding closure. Separately, the AER's ST37 lifecycle status marks wells that are abandoned (plugged and downhole-closed) or reclaimed (surface fully restored). Township Canada joins both to every well.
What it carries
The OWA inventory contributes the orphan flag and site references. ST37 contributes the abandoned and reclaimed lifecycle states. Together they answer the diligence question: of the wells on this ground, how many are someone's active responsibility, and how many have already fallen to the public purse?
Coverage and refresh
Across Alberta we flag more than 24,000 orphan wells, and more than 240,000 wells carry an abandoned status. The OWA inventory refreshes monthly; the abandoned and reclaimed states refresh monthly with ST37.
Source: Orphan Well Association inventory · refreshed monthly
Source: AER · ST37 · refreshed monthly
How Township Canada shows it
Orphan and abandoned counts roll up on the Energy tab of the parcel report and on each operator's footprint. On the map, the liability preset colours the O&G Activity layer by orphan-well density, so you can see where the liability concentrates across a township.
/images/learn/data-sources/orphan-abandoned-wells/liability-preset.png): the liability preset active, the grid shaded by orphan-well density, hot cells standing out.Related
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