This report exposes the regulatory failure behind Alberta’s growing inventory of inactive and orphan oil and gas wells—an environmental and financial crisis decades in the making. Despite introducing the 2020 Liability Management Framework, the province continues to suffer from secrecy, weak enforcement, and industry-dominated oversight. With cleanup costs potentially exceeding $60 billion, and no meaningful financial security in place, the burden may fall on taxpayers.

This report calls for a transparent public inquiry and urgent reforms to uphold the polluter-pays principle and protect the public interest.