Orphan Licence Transfer

Overview

When a well or facility licence is deemed an orphan, it remains in the defunct licensee's name. However, the Ministry of Energy and Resources has the authority to act on the licensee's behalf to transfer the licence to another eligible party under section 10.0 of The Oil and Gas Conservation Act.

NOTE: The ministry will review the requests on a first-come first-served basis and reserves the right to approve/deny any licence transfer application. Where there is more than one interested party regarding the acquisition of orphan licence(s), the ministry reserves the right to carry out a competitive bid process.

Guidance

Parties interested in acquiring well or facility licences designated as orphans should refer to the Orphan Inventory. It lists orphan licences and the associated Orphan Abandonment and/or Reclamation Status under the Orphan Fund Procurement Program, defined as follows:

• Required – Abandonment or reclamation work has not been completed under the Orphan Program.
• No longer required – The licence has been transferred out of the Orphan Program.
• Completed or Not Applicable – The licence has already been abandoned and/or reclaimed.

NOTE: Once a licence is transferred the applicant (now licensee) is responsible for the liability associated with the future abandonment and reclamation of the licensed site. This includes environmental liability that existed prior to acquiring the licence. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to ensure they are aware of potential liabilities that may exist before applying to transfer the licences.

Eligibility

To acquire orphan licences in Saskatchewan, the licensee must:

• Be eligible to hold a licence under Section 12 of The Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations, 2012;
• Have an IRIS account and the appropriate permissions assigned by your IRIS Security Administrator to submit a well or facility transfer application;
• Be registered with Information Services Corporation (ISC) as a corporation to do business in Saskatchewan;
• Be in good standing with the ministry (i.e. any outstanding ministry debt has been addressed);
• Provide security deposit(s) required for the pending transfer if applicable;
• Provide confirmation the surface lease for the proposed site(s) of interest has been obtained;
• Provide confirmation the mineral rights agreement for the proposed licence(s) zone of interest has been obtained; and
• Provide confirmation that agreements with all applicable Rural Municipalities (RM) has been obtained.

How to Apply

Express Interest to the Ministry

Parties interested in acquiring an orphaned licence(s) should notify the ministry of their intent to ensure the licence(s) of interest are available and not scheduled for abandonment and/or reclamation work prior to the licence transfer being processed.

1. Read the Orphan Licence Transfer FAQ's document to ensure you are aware of how the orphan licence transfer differs from a typical transfer process.
2. Determine the potential security deposit required for the proposed transfer to acquire the orphaned licence(s):
   • Complete the applicable schedules, using the templates below, for the licences to be transferred. (Refer to the "How-To's" tab within each schedule for guidance):
     • Schedule A - Wells
     • Schedule B - Facilities
     • Schedule C - Pipelines and Flowlines
   • Click Calculate Security Deposit, at the Preview Application screen, to estimate the security deposit requirements for the uploaded schedules. Do not click Submit or provide any security deposit at this time; the application should remain as a draft until further advised by the ministry.
     
     NOTE: The estimated security deposit may change at the discretion of the minister at the time of the transfer application. The minister may consider the following when making a decision regarding a change in the security deposit amount:
     • Non-compliance with respect to ministry regulatory programs and/or outstanding field inspection items;
     • Knowledge of any issues of contamination at problem sites that have not been properly assessed in terms of remediation costs;
     • Outstanding debts owed to the ministry; and
     • Any other relevant factors.
3. Prepare the Expression of Interest to Acquire Orphan Licences Form for submission.
4. Submit the completed Expression of Interest to Acquire Orphan Licences Form request via email to ERLiabilityRegulation@gov.sk.ca with the subject line "Interest in Orphan Licence Acquisition" and include the required documents.

A ministry representative will respond via email whether a transfer would be considered and if so, the next steps to be taken by the interested party.

Apply

Apply for authorization to transfer an orphan licence or associated crown disposition.

IRIS Login

Further Information

Acquiring Crown Mineral Leases

Petroleum and natural gas dispositions in Saskatchewan are acquired through Crown Public Offerings. Companies request land to be posted in the Public Offering and bid on parcels within the Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS).

There are a number of scenarios where an oil and gas disposition may be eligible to be transferred. In these scenarios, acquisition through the Public Offering would not be required. These include:

• if the transferor(s) and the transferee(s) have agreed to and signed (executed) the transfer; or
• if a transfer is executed by or on behalf of a trustee, receiver, receiver-manager, liquidator, executor, administrator, property guardian or other person acting in a similar capacity and is accompanied by required documentation as set out in the Crown Minerals Act; or
• if the transfer is a redistribution of the interest among the remaining holders.

For more information on mineral lease transfers visit Transfer a Crown Oil and Gas Disposition Application.