Under the BC Energy Regulator’s Comprehensive Liability Management Plan, a key focus is to speed up the rate at which inactive sites are returned to their pre-activity state. To achieve this, we are setting new timeline requirements to hold companies to account for timely cleanup. While many companies are actively restoring sites, the rate of restoration has not kept pace with development. Legislative changes enable the BCER to implement a Dormancy Regulation to address this, which sets hard timelines for restoration and imposes requirements for:

• Decommissioning
• Site Assessment
• Remediation
• Restoration

The Dormancy Regulation gives each site a prescribed timeline to complete restoration.

For more information, please see the Dormant Sites Manual.

List of All Dormant and Former Sites

For a list of dormant and former sites in B.C., please visit our Data Centre.

Former sites are more commonly referred to as sites that were “built but never drilled,” or sites that were “cancelled with surface disturbance.” A former site is defined in the regulation as a site where the well permit has been cancelled, declared spent, or expired.

Spatial Data

The BCER provides spatial data for all dormant and orphan sites including the contents of permit holder Annual Work Plans. The spatial data is provided as both shape files (to be utilized in an ArcGIS platform), as well as KML files (to be used in a Google Earth platform). If you have any questions about the spatial data please email dormantsites@bc-er.ca.

Dormant Sites Map

Click on the map below to launch in full view:

Permit Holder Site Dormancy Declaration

Section 3(1)(b) of the Dormancy & Shutdown Regulation gives permit holders the ability to provide written notice to the BCER that a well is dormant. Sites that are declared as dormant then follow the classification of dormant sites as per Section 4 of the Dormancy & Shutdown Regulation. If you are a permit holder wishing to declare one or more of your sites as dormant please fill out the Site Dormancy Declaration Form and email it to dormantsites@bc-er.ca.

Priority Sites

Dormant sites are classified by either the date that a site becomes dormant or whether the site is a priority site. Priority sites are subject to expedited timelines for closure activities.

The Priority Site Identification Process Map outlines the process that will be followed when requests are received for review and decision made by the Commissioner.

Priority site requests are site-specific and must be received on the Dormant Sites Priority Site Request Form.

In September of 2021, the first 35 Type A dormant sites were designated as Priority Sites.

WA #	Permit Holder	Well Name
7384	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA ET AL RIGEL 03-16-088-16
7437	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA ET AL E RIGEL 14-02-088-16
8282	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA ET AL E RIGEL 13-10-088-16
5003	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA ET AL RIGEL 16-25-087-18
14099	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA RIGEL 05-02-088-16
2400	Bonavista Energy Corporation	BONAVISTA RIGEL C- 060-J/094-A-10
7432	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL ET AL E RIGEL 06-14-088-16
7433	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL ET AL E RIGEL 04-15-088-16
7739	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL RIGEL 14-09-088-16
8309	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL RIGEL A11-16-088-16
10732	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL ET AL N BOUNDARY 13-03-087-14
8253	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL RIGEL 01-16-088-16
6934	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL BEAUDETTE A- 005-C/093-O-09
10304	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL W BULLMOOSE D- 096-G/093-P-04
12993	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL W BULLMOOSE C- 046-H/093-P-04
6896	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL BOULDER B- 021-D/093-O-09
7431	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL SUKUNKA B- 086-I/093-P-04
7908	Canadian Natural Resources Limited	CNRL BURNT A- 094-A/093-O-08
23270	Canlin Energy Corporation	CANLIN HZ GWILLIM C- 033-D/093-P-06
7712	ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp.	COP SUKUNKA D- 070-I/093-P-04
11143	ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp.	COP ET AL WINDFALL A- 005-G/093-P-04
8689	ExxonMobil Canada Ltd.	EXXONMO ET AL SUKUNKA C- 051-J/093-P-04
7727	Imperial Oil Resources Limited	IMP CHEVRON W BOULDER B- 097-F/093-O-08
11422	Imperial Oil Resources Limited	IMP W BRAZION A- 050-G/093-O-08
7844	Prairie Provident Resources Canada Ltd.	PPR ET AL RIGEL 15-31-087-16
4516	Procyon Energy Corp.	PROCYON ET AL SIPHON 06-25-086-17
7858	Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc.	ROGCI RIGEL 14-04-088-16
18316	Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc.	ROGCI ET AL W BULLMOOSE C- 040-D/093-P-03
3817	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA ET AL BULLMOOSE C- 020-L/093-P-03
12197	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA HZ W BULLMOOSE D- 007-E/093-P-03
7185	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA W BULLMOOSE C- 088-H/093-P-04
16344	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA HZ SUKUNKA A- 037-J/093-P-04
25543	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA HZ SUKUNKA B- 077-L/093-P-03
8622	Sukunka Natural Resources Inc.	SUKUNKA SUKUNKA C- 054-J/093-P-04
19605	Tallahassee Exploration Inc.	TEI LAGARDE B10-34-087-16

The identification year for these priority sites will be 2021 and as a result all restoration activities at the sites must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026 (five calendar years after the identification year). Where the designated Priority Site is the permit holder’s only Type A dormant site the default date under section 15(3) of the DSR applies (the site must be restored by Dec. 31, 2024).