Orders

At the end of the day, Albertans own our energy resources, so developing them is a privilege—not a right. If we find a company is not following the rules, regulations, or requirements, we may issue an order or take other enforcement action.

AER orders are legal documents that formally permit, direct or prohibit a specific action or actions. Orders can be issued for different purposes; for example, we might order a company to

• reduce its normal spacing of wells;
• close or abandon a facility; or
• stop an unsafe activity or operation.

In any case, orders help us ensure that oil and gas companies operate in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

The most commonly issued order is referred to as a compliance order, which is designed to prevent, stop, or minimize environmental impacts or risks to public safety. An order may also be used to penalize companies that don’t follow our rules and regulations.

Orders We Issue

• compliance orders
• administrative penalties
• costs orders
• interim shut-in orders  
• oil sands area orders
• commingling and development entity orders 
• gas allowable orders 
• maximum rate limitation orders 

Orders are just one of the many enforcement tools we use in our compliance program. Find out what other tools we use to bring companies into compliance with our rules and requirements.

Search through AER Orders

Users can search the following index of AER orders by field and type to find lists of all active orders related to energy resource development. This index is also available as a subscription product in our Products and Services Catalogue.

Alphabetically, By Field
The index of AER orders provides an index by field and area, listing all active oil-, oil sands-, and gas-related orders. This index is also available via FTP as a subscription product.

By Order Type

• Abandonment Orders
• Closure Orders
• Miscellaneous Orders (updated: October 3, 2016)
• Named Individuals (updated: January 14, 2020)
• Subsurface Orders

See all AER orders

Monthly Summary of Orders and Approvals 
This monthly summary lists all new and amended AER orders.

Sorted by Field - Current Issue

Sorted by Order Type - Current Issue