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Alberta

Five ways Canada’s oil and gas industry showed improved environmental performance in 2023

Published

1 year ago

4 minute read

Natural gas processing facility in Alberta. Photo courtesy Alberta Energy Regulator

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Deborah Jaremko

Data shows work industry is doing to reduce its environmental footprint

New data released in 2023 shows the progress Canada’s oil and gas industry is making to reduce its environmental footprint.  

From emissions to water use and reclamation, here are some key performance statistics.  

1. Methane emissions reduction target achieved three years ahead of schedule 

Photo courtesy Tourmaline

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released data in November showing that oil and gas producers in the province achieved the target of reducing methane emissions by 45 per cent compared to 2014.  

The milestone was achieved in 2022, three years ahead of the 2025 government deadline.  

Reducing methane emissions comes primarily from reducing small leaks from valves, pump seals, and other equipment, as well as reducing flaring and venting.   

2. Oil sands emissions stay flat despite production growth  

Oil sands steam generators. Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

An updated study by S&P Global in August found oil sands emissions did not increase in 2022 even though production grew. 

It’s a significant first that indicates oil sands emissions may start decreasing sooner than previously expected, said Kevin Birn, S&P Global’s vice-president of Canadian oil markets.  

Total oil sands emissions were 81 megatonnes in 2022, nearly flat with 2021 despite a production increase of about 50,000 barrels per day.  

In 2022, S&P Global predicted peak oil sands emissions around 2025. The new findings indicate it could happen faster.  

3. Producers spend millions more than required on oil and gas cleanup 

Photo courtesy Alberta Energy Regulator

Oil and gas producers in Alberta spent significantly more than required in 2022 cleaning up inactive wells, facilities and pipelines, the AER reported in October.  

The regulator’s industry-wide minimum “closure” spend for 2022 was set at $422 million. But the final tally showed producers spent $685 million, or about 60 per cent more than the regulator required.  

Industry abandoned 10,334 inactive wells, pipelines and facilities in 2022 – nearly double the amount abandoned in 2019 and 2020, the AER reported.   

Reclamation activity also accelerated, with the AER issuing 461 reclamation certificates, an increase of one third compared to 2021.  

The regulator reports that 17 per cent of licensed wells in Alberta are now considered inactive, down from 21 per cent in 2019. And about 30 per cent of licensed wells are now considered reclaimed, up from 27 per cent in 2019.   

4. Oil sands reclaimed land growing  

Wetland in reclaimed area in the Athabasca oil sands region. Photo by Greg Halinda for the Canadian Energy Centre

Data released by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance highlights the growing spread of the industry’s reclaimed land. 

As of 2021, oil sands operators had permanently reclaimed 10,344 hectares, the equivalent area of more than 20,000 NFL football fields – a 16 per cent increase from 2019. 

Of this, 1,296 hectares (about 2,500 NFL football fields) is permanently reclaimed to wetlands and aquatics.  

5. Fresh water use per barrel declining 

Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

New data on water use in Alberta’s oil and gas industry released in December shows producers continue to reduce the use of fresh water from lakes, rivers and shallow groundwater

The oil and gas industry used less than one per cent of Alberta’s available fresh water in 2022, the AER reported.  

Thanks primarily to increased water recycling, fresh water use per barrel in Alberta oil and gas has decreased by 22 per cent since 2013.  

Overall, 82 per cent of water used in Alberta oil and gas in 2022 was recycled; 80 per cent in oil sands mining, and 90 per cent in drilled or “in situ” oil sands production.  

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Alberta

Alberta takes big step towards shorter wait times and higher quality health care

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Nadeem Esmail

On Monday, the Smith government announced that beginning next year it will change the way it funds surgeries in Alberta. This is a big step towards unlocking the ability of Alberta’s health-care system to provide more, better and faster services for the same or possibly fewer dollars.

To understand the significance of this change, you must understand the consequences of the current (and outdated) approach.

Currently, the Alberta government pays a lump sum of money to hospitals each year. Consequently, hospitals perceive patients as a drain on their budgets. From the hospital’s perspective, there’s little financial incentive to serve more patients, operate more efficiently and provide superior quality services.

Consider what would happen if your local grocery store received a giant bag of money each year to feed people. The number of items would quickly decline to whatever was most convenient for the store to provide. (Have a favourite cereal? Too bad.) Store hours would become less convenient for customers, alongside a general decline in overall service. This type of grocery store, like an Alberta hospital, is actually financially better off (that is, it saves money) if you go elsewhere.

The Smith government plans to flip this entire system on its head, to the benefit of patients and taxpayers. Instead of handing out bags of money each year to providers, the new system—known as “activity-based funding”—will pay health-care providers for each patient they treat, based on the patient’s particular condition and important factors that may add complexity or cost to their care.

This turns patients from a drain on budgets into a source of additional revenue. The result, as has been demonstrated in other universal health-care systems worldwide, is more services delivered using existing health-care infrastructure, lower wait times, improved quality of care, improved access to medical technologies, and less waste.

In other words, Albertans will receive far better value from their health-care system, which is currently among the most expensive in the world. And relief can’t come soon enough—for example, last year in Alberta the median wait time for orthopedic surgeries including hip and knee replacements was 66.8 weeks.

The naysayers argue this approach will undermine the province’s universal system and hurt patients. But by allowing a spectrum of providers to compete for the delivery of quality care, Alberta will follow the lead of other more successful universal health-care systems in countries such as Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland and create greater accountability for hospitals and other health-care providers. Taxpayers will get a much better picture of what they’re paying for and how much they pay.

Again, Alberta is not exploring an untested policy. Almost every other developed country with universal health care uses some form of “activity-based funding” for hospital and surgical care. And remember, we already spend more on health care than our counterparts in nearly all of these countries yet endure longer wait times and poorer access to services generally, in part because of how we pay for surgical care.

While the devil is always in the details, and while it’s still possible for the Alberta government to get this wrong, Monday’s announcement is a big step in the right direction. A funding model that puts patients first will get Albertans more of the high-quality health care they already pay for in a timelier fashion. And provide to other provinces an example of bold health-care reform.

Nadeem Esmail

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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Alberta

Alberta’s embrace of activity-based funding is great news for patients

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Montreal Economic Institute

Alberta’s move to fund acute care services through activity-based funding follows best practices internationally, points out an MEI researcher following an announcement made by Premier Danielle Smith earlier today.

“For too long, the way hospitals were funded in Alberta incentivized treating fewer patients, contributing to our long wait times,” explains Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI. “International experience has shown that, with the proper funding models in place, health systems become more efficient to the benefit of patients.”

Currently, Alberta’s hospitals are financed under a system called “global budgeting.” This involves allocating a pre-set amount of funding to pay for a specific number of services based on previous years’ budgets.

Under the government’s newly proposed funding system, hospitals receive a fixed payment for each treatment delivered.

An Economic Note published by the MEI last year showed that Quebec’s gradual adoption of activity-based funding led to higher productivity and lower costs in the province’s health system.

Notably, the province observed that the per-procedure cost of MRIs fell by four per cent as the number of procedures performed increased by 22 per cent.

In the radiology and oncology sector, it observed productivity increases of 26 per cent while procedure costs decreased by seven per cent.

“Being able to perform more surgeries, at lower costs, and within shorter timelines is exactly what Alberta’s patients need, and Premier Smith understands that,” continued Mrs. Wittevrongel. “Today’s announcement is a good first step, and we look forward to seeing a successful roll-out once appropriate funding levels per procedure are set.”

The governments expects to roll-out this new funding model for select procedures starting in 2026.

* * *

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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