|
Alberta untangling regulatory red tape
Gary Park For Petroleum News
The Alberta government has responded to years of lobbying by the petroleum industry to simplify its regulatory process, saving both time and money.
Energy Minister Ron Liepert is targeting this fall to replace the current multilayered regime with a “single window” regulator, describing the move as the most sweeping overhaul of the province’s regulatory regime in more than 50 years.
He said previous attempts to “make Alberta’s regulatory system more user friendly” have not always been successful.
David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and Gary Leach, executive director of the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, welcomed the government’s attempt to end duplication and overlap.
Collyer said the approach outlined by Liepert appears to meet the industry’s expectations of a more predictable energy policy and the “right sort of regulatory framework” for specific projects.
“This will help both government and industry in terms of cost savings over the longer term,” he said.
Leach said the changes would help Alberta improve its competitive position “by attracting and enabling new energy investment.”
Despite uncertainty stemming from the surprise decision of Premier Ed Stelmach to resign under pressure from within government circles, Collyer said there is more political will and support to move forward with changes.
Liepert said a single body will be established to perform the functions now carried out by the departments of energy, environment and sustainable resource development.
He gave one example of the regulatory barriers built up over the years by laying out the experience of Total E&P Canada, which applied to build a heavy oil upgrader in the Edmonton, a project it has since abandoned.
Liepert said Total faced a year or two to obtain a certificate from the Energy Resources Conservation Board before it moved on to the Environment Department, where it started the “whole process all over again. … This could happen three or four times within government.”
Central management office In addition, the government has also accepted its task force recommendations to establish a central management office to coordinate land use and environmental policies that apply to upstream companies and a board to resolve disputes between companies and landowners over issues such as surface rights access.
Diana McQueen, the parliamentary secretary of energy who also chaired the task force, said the Environment and Sustainable Resources departments would continue to be responsible for policy development and monitoring, while the new regulatory body would be responsible for approvals and enforcement.
However, she said streamlining the regulatory system does not mean the government will “water down” the safeguards. “We will not compromise our responsibility to environmental stewardship,” she said.
Liepert agreed that the government will not undermine the reputation of the Energy Resources Conservation Board which is “viewed as a world-class regulatory operating at arm’s length from the government.”
Brian Mason, leader of Alberta’s opposition New Democratic Party, said nothing in the announcement will result in a “responsible approval process for oil and gas projects any time soon.”
| 