The Ministry of Energy and Resources requires upstream oil and gas licensees to pay a $10,000 non-refundable Orphan Fund Fee prior to acquiring their first well or facility licence in Saskatchewan pursuant to section 16 of The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012.
The money is deposited into the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Orphan Fund (SOGOF) and accessed by the Orphan Fund Procurement Program to abandon and reclaim orphaned well and facility sites.
NOTE: The above fees are only applicable to Oil and Gas Producers. Therefore, any company holding only well/facility licences for purposes other than oil and gas production (such as potash mining, storage facilities or waste facilities) would be exempt from submitting an orphan fund fee. If a licensee believes they qualify for exemption from this fee please contact ER.Servicedesk@gov.sk.ca. Someone will review your request and add you to the “LLR Excluded Licensee” list if deemed appropriate to do so.
Submit an orphan fund fee payment
The orphan fund fee payment should be made payable to the Minister of Finance and submitted along with the completed Orphan Fund Fee Payment Form.
Acceptable forms of payment include:
- Cheque/Bank Draft
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
- Direct Deposit
- Online Payments
- Wire Transfer
Questions related to the payment methods should be directed to the ER Service Desk at 1-855-219-9373 or ER.Servicedesk@gov.sk.ca.