Abandoned well leaking methane in Bonnyville could require knocking down homes to decommission

The location, available for view on the AER’s Abandoned Well Viewer, of the orphaned well leaking methane between 45th and 46th Avenue in Bonnyville.

A previously unknown well in a residential area of Bonnyville has been leaking small amounts of methane, and in order to decommission the abandoned well, homes may have to be purchased for the purpose of knocking them down. 

In June, methane gas was detected by utility workers while replacing a gas metre at a residence in the 4500 block between 45th and 46th Avenue in Bonnyville. 

Followup tests revealed evidence of methane gas in neighbouring properties, totalling the affected areas as two homes and two condos. 

The methane is coming from a well licensed and drilled by a long defunct company, Trican Petro-Chemical Corporation, in 1954. 

With the company closing shop over 60 years ago, the Alberta Energy Regulator has deemed it an orphan well, and handed the remediation to the Orphan Well Association. 

At a meeting in Bonnyville on Wednesday, Sept. 11, affected residents were told that a likely outcome to properly decommissioning the well would be the OWA purchasing their homes for the purpose of knocking them down, creating enough space for the drilling rig and equipment to access the area.  

The OWA acts as a backstop when a company is no longer in business and unable to fix the issue themselves. 

“We need to re-enter the well and drill out the top plug and also the bottom plug,” Lars DePauw, president of the Orphan Well Association, told Lakeland Connect. 

“We know that there’s a way to do that, and we bring in some very big equipment, but that would be your worst case scenario. 

“What we’ve been doing is trying to figure out if there’s other equipment that we can bring in that would be less disruptive and would require less homes to be purchased, because we don’t want to have to displace people unnecessarily.” 

Methane

Low concentrations of methane are not harmful, but high concentrations could have adverse effects where it replaces the oxygen in the air and leads to asphyxiation. 

Methane is flammable though, leading to increased risks of devastating fires. 

The OWA has been doing routine tests of the methane levels, and have been detecting low concentrations. 

They’ve also installed real-time monitoring in certain homes, and installed a soil Vapor Recovery Unit (VRU) to reduce the volumes of methane gas observed in the surrounding area. 

The exact location of the well has been pinpointed. 

“It’s in the corner of one of the lots. It’s very close in proximity to two homes and two of the condos, which then has four residents,” said DePauw. “But we have been monitoring farther than that area as well. 

“Those would be the ones that, if we need to bring in a drilling rig, for example, as that worst case scenario, we would need to acquire all six of those homes right, right from an access issue just because of the equipment we need.”

Rules change 2012

According to correspondence with the Alberta Energy Regulator, prior to November 2012, developers and property owners could apply for a subdivision or development permit without the requirement to identify and locate abandoned wells.

That’s what happened in this case in Bonnyville. 

Now, these abandoned wells must be appropriately addressed in the proposed development.

Around this time, the province’s then Department of Energy identified approximately 1,500 abandoned wells located within urban area boundaries across Alberta, including 332 abandoned wells near surface structures.  

The AER also outlines minimum distance requirements to allow for access for ongoing maintenance, guides municipalities in identifying and properly managing abandoned wells in new subdivisions and developments, and outlines the AER’s expectations for the oil and gas industry to locate and test abandoned wells if they might conflict with new surface structures or are already near existing structures.

“AER’s focus during this time is to continue to work closely with OWA, the Town of Bonnyville, and local authorities to ensure ongoing public safety,” they said in a public statement.

Next steps

This is a unique situation, but not that uncommon for the OWA.    

The plans and next steps could be finalized soon.

If the sales of the properties are required, the services of a professional appraiser to establish the market value of the homes will be used, (not being impacted by the well) and a moving allowance will be granted.

“The factors that we’re going to be dealing with that are going to drive the timing of this really relate to purchasing the homes and then dealing with them to get access. As you can imagine, that can take some time, because those homeowners have to then find somewhere else to go, and they have to move,” said DePauw. 

More to follow.