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A well site is considered dormant if it does not meet a threshold of activity for five consecutive years or does not produce for at least 720 hours a year.

Under the BC Energy Regulator’s Comprehensive Liability Management Plan, a key focus is to speed up the rate at which inactive sites are returned to their pre-activity state. To achieve this, we are setting new timeline requirements to hold companies to account for timely cleanup. While many companies are actively restoring sites, the rate of restoration has not kept pace with development. Legislative changes enable the BCER to implement a Dormancy Regulation to address this, which sets hard timelines for restoration and imposes requirements for:

  • Decommissioning
  • Site Assessment
  • Remediation
  • Restoration

The Dormancy Regulation gives each site a prescribed timeline to complete restoration.

For more information, please see the Dormant Sites Manual.

List of All Dormant and Former Sites

For a list of dormant and former sites in B.C., please visit our Data Centre.

Former sites are more commonly referred to as sites that were “built but never drilled,” or sites that were “cancelled with surface disturbance.” A former site is defined in the regulation as a site where the well permit has been cancelled, declared spent, or expired.

Spatial Data

The BCER provides spatial data for all dormant and orphan sites including the contents of permit holder Annual Work Plans. The spatial data is provided as both shape files (to be utilized in an ArcGIS platform), as well as KML files (to be used in a Google Earth platform). If you have any questions about the spatial data please email dormantsites@bc-er.ca.

Dormant Sites Map

Click on the map below to launch in full view:

Permit Holder Site Dormancy Declaration

Section 3(1)(b) of the Dormancy & Shutdown Regulation gives permit holders the ability to provide written notice to the BCER that a well is dormant. Sites that are declared as dormant then follow the classification of dormant sites as per Section 4 of the Dormancy & Shutdown Regulation. If you are a permit holder wishing to declare one or more of your sites as dormant please fill out the Site Dormancy Declaration Form and email it to dormantsites@bc-er.ca.

Priority Sites

Dormant sites are classified by either the date that a site becomes dormant or whether the site is a priority site. Priority sites are subject to expedited timelines for closure activities.

The Priority Site Identification Process Map outlines the process that will be followed when requests are received for review and decision made by the Commissioner.

Priority site requests are site-specific and must be received on the Dormant Sites Priority Site Request Form.

In September of 2021, the first 35 Type A dormant sites were designated as Priority Sites.

WA # Permit Holder Well Name
7384 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA ET AL RIGEL 03-16-088-16
7437 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA ET AL E RIGEL 14-02-088-16
8282 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA ET AL E RIGEL 13-10-088-16
5003 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA ET AL RIGEL 16-25-087-18
14099 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA RIGEL 05-02-088-16
2400 Bonavista Energy Corporation BONAVISTA RIGEL C- 060-J/094-A-10
7432 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL ET AL E RIGEL 06-14-088-16
7433 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL ET AL E RIGEL 04-15-088-16
7739 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL RIGEL 14-09-088-16
8309 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL RIGEL A11-16-088-16
10732 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL ET AL N BOUNDARY 13-03-087-14
8253 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL RIGEL 01-16-088-16
6934 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL BEAUDETTE A- 005-C/093-O-09
10304 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL W BULLMOOSE D- 096-G/093-P-04
12993 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL W BULLMOOSE C- 046-H/093-P-04
6896 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL BOULDER B- 021-D/093-O-09
7431 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL SUKUNKA B- 086-I/093-P-04
7908 Canadian Natural Resources Limited CNRL BURNT A- 094-A/093-O-08
23270 Canlin Energy Corporation CANLIN HZ GWILLIM C- 033-D/093-P-06
7712 ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. COP SUKUNKA D- 070-I/093-P-04
11143 ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. COP ET AL WINDFALL A- 005-G/093-P-04
8689 ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. EXXONMO ET AL SUKUNKA C- 051-J/093-P-04
7727 Imperial Oil Resources Limited IMP CHEVRON W BOULDER B- 097-F/093-O-08
11422 Imperial Oil Resources Limited IMP W BRAZION A- 050-G/093-O-08
7844 Prairie Provident Resources Canada Ltd. PPR ET AL RIGEL 15-31-087-16
4516 Procyon Energy Corp. PROCYON ET AL SIPHON 06-25-086-17
7858 Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. ROGCI RIGEL 14-04-088-16
18316 Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. ROGCI ET AL W BULLMOOSE C- 040-D/093-P-03
3817 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA ET AL BULLMOOSE C- 020-L/093-P-03
12197 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA HZ W BULLMOOSE D- 007-E/093-P-03
7185 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA W BULLMOOSE C- 088-H/093-P-04
16344 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA HZ SUKUNKA A- 037-J/093-P-04
25543 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA HZ SUKUNKA B- 077-L/093-P-03
8622 Sukunka Natural Resources Inc. SUKUNKA SUKUNKA C- 054-J/093-P-04
19605 Tallahassee Exploration Inc. TEI LAGARDE B10-34-087-16

The identification year for these priority sites will be 2021 and as a result all restoration activities at the sites must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026 (five calendar years after the identification year). Where the designated Priority Site is the permit holder’s only Type A dormant site the default date under section 15(3) of the DSR applies (the site must be restored by Dec. 31, 2024).

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