Revenue Requirement
For 2023/24, the Government of Alberta approved a revenue requirement of $217.4 million to support the operations of the AER.
2023/24 Administration Fees (Industry Levy)
The 2023/24 Administration Fees payable to the AER depend on the AER’s revenue requirement, 2022 production volumes, the number and types of wells and schemes, the length of pipelines in each class, facility inlet rates, and the number of operators in the sector. The 2023/24 Administration Fee is allocated as follows:
|
($000) |
||
| Sector | 2023 | 2022 |
| Oil and gas | 154,346 | 142,157 |
| Oil sands | 43,245 | 45,004 |
| Coal | 8,718 | 8,571 |
| Pipelines | 7,479 | 3,453 |
| Facilities (Directive 056) | 3,218 | 1,385 |
| Facilities (Directive 023) | 413 | 160 |
| Total | 217,419 | 200,730 |
Oil and Gas Sector
The administration fee in the conventional oil and gas sector is based on individual well production of oil and bitumen or gas and the number of inactive, service, and production wells for the year 2022.
All wells are classified into one of ten base fee classes set out in the Alberta Energy Regulator Administration Fees Rules. In addition, an adjustment factor is specified and applied to each base fee to ensure that the total administration fee collected for the sector satisfies the revenue requirement.
Alberta Upstream Petroleum Research Fund
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada requested that the AER’s administration fee process be used to collect $5.288 million to fund the Alberta Upstream Petroleum Research Fund (“AUPRF”) in 2023. The AER has agreed to assist and has included an amount for this funding in the oil and gas well administration fee invoices. The AER noted that payment of the AUPRF is voluntary.
Oil Sands Sector
In the oil sands sector, fees are levied in five categories based on operating information for the 2022 calendar year, and each category is subject to an administration factor. Each category is subject to an adjustment factor.
Coal Sector
The administration fee for coal is based on each mine’s share of total production volumes for the year 2022. It is set at $0.665085 per tonne of coal.
Pipeline Sector
The administration fee for pipelines is based on the segments of a pipeline in each class as of Dec 31, 2022. Pipelines segments subject to an administration fee are classed into one of three classes according to the diameter. For the 2023/24 fiscal year, an adjustment factor of 1.339183 is applied to each base fee.
Facilities (Directive 056) – Gas Plants
The administration fees are levied to gas plant facilities with an inlet rate greater than or equal to ten million cubic meters per day as of Dec 31, 2022, and active, new, or unknown activity status. The rate is set at $4.745277 for every thousand cubic meters per day and is applied based on the individual facility inlet rate.
Facilities (Directive 023) – Processing Plants
The administration fees are levied on processing plant facilities approved under the Oil Sands Conservation Act with an operating status as of Dec 31, 2022. The rate is set at $7.894529 for each cubic meter per day and applied based on the individual facility inlet rate.
