Wes Paterson, who owns Paterson Consulting, has been recognized for efforts to see orphan well sites repurposed. Paterson's project, called "Transforming Brownfields into Brightfields with Sustainable Opportunities," identifies more than 25 sites for reclamation.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
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Wes Paterson, a consultant based in Medicine Hat, has won a prestigious management consulting award for an initiative to repurpose orphan wells in the province.
Paterson’s company, Paterson Consulting Inc., won the CMC Canada Project of the Year Silver Award, and has been selected as a finalist to advance to the International Constantinus Awards. The winner of the international contest will be crowned in October at a ceremony in Hong Kong.
The project, developed in partnership with RenuWell Energy Solutions, aims to address the widespread issue of abandoned oil and gas wells while simultaneously promoting sustainable energy development.
As of November 2024, there were nearly 80,000 inactive wells across Alberta. The last OWA estimate for cleanup costs, dating from March, was $1.12 billion.
Hundreds of millions are owed to Alberta municipalities in property taxes from oil and gas companies, and landowners are often left holding the bag for unpaid leases. Government reimbursements can take months. The wait time for cleanup operations from the over-burdened OWA is often several years.
Paterson’s project was designed to recover some of the money lost by landowners and governments to orphan wells.
“Right now, lots of these sites have roads to them that are not being used. The general concept that we came up with was: perhaps we can redevelop those as energy producing sites using micro-grid solar application,” said Paterson.
Paterson says his solution helps expedite the process by which landowners can repurpose brownfields by continuing to use the sites for energy generation.
“If you’re going to use the land for a different purpose, they have to do the environmental reclamation. But if a site is still deemed an energy site, then it can still be in use. You’ve just switched up the type of energy that’s being done.”
The project would not contribute to reclamation efforts directly. But it would create revenue that could be used to reduce the costs of environmental cleanup, and contribute to the energy diversification the province badly needs.
According to initial figures, the project could yield a potential $11 billion if its implemented on the brownfield sites identified, which consist of only 5 per cent of the total inactive oil and gas sites in the province.
Paterson says his role as a consultant is to convince energy regulators, landowners and governments that there is a business case for new initiatives like this one. Two pilots are operational in the Taber area, and Paterson said the early results have been encouraging.
As for the award, Paterson says shines a light on the efforts of local companies trying to find solutions for the province’s energy future.
He also hopes the international exposure might prompt collaboration with new partners, or at the very least, put him in contact with new ideas.
“Lots of people are concerned about business, concerned about tariffs and relations with our brothers and sisters down South,” he said. “One of the nice things about the international conference is this opportunity to connect with people in other areas of the world and see: is there technology, are there processes, are there things that we could bring here to expand our manufacturing sector here in the province?”
