Supreme Court rules energy companies cannot abandon old wells

Externalizing costs is illegal! W00t!

Well, oil be damned.

You make a mess, you clean it up.

Oils well that ends well.

Probably affect some future investments but the kind of investors who just want a fast buck and then walk away aren't the kind of people we want in the industry anyway. I note that the appeal was backed by the Orphan Well Association, the clean-up agency created by the industry itself, which means the better and more responsible companies obviously (a) wanted a final SCOC decision to clarify everything once and for all and (b) wanted this result so they won't be tainted by the bad actions of the bad actors. If it's all just removals of rusty pump-jacks and valves it isn't going to be a huge cost for removal and remediation anyway. If the equipment was installed properly, which has always been subject to provincial inspection before they're allowed to go into operation, then there shouldn't be much of a spill problem to clean up at the vast majority of these sites.