Medicine Hat Natural Gas Well Closure

[errolanderson]

Medicine Hat (The Gas City) is permanently closing down 2,000 of its active natural gas wells due to extremely low prices. This represents a shuttering of 75% of city wells. Apparently, this decision has cost 100 jobs.

Natural gas prices started to tank in 2008. Apparently, Medicine Hat has been losing up to $35 million annually on these wells. At times, the city has had to pay to have their natural gas taken away.

Medicine Hat has been the king of Canada's natural gas industry for about 120 years. Their methanol plant, the Goodyear tire plant, bitcoin mining ⁠— which uses electricity generated from natural gas ⁠— and the future Aurora Cannabis greenhouse (21 football fields) is all based on low-cost natural gas.

Another blow to Alberta's economy . . . .

[bucket]

Medicine Hat (The Gas City) is permanently closing down 2,000 of its active natural gas wells due to extremely low prices. This represents a shuttering of 75% of city wells. Apparently, this decision has cost 100 jobs.

Natural gas prices started to tank in 2008. Apparently, Medicine Hat has been losing up to $35 million annually on these wells. At times, the city has had to pay to have their natural gas taken away.

Medicine Hat has been the king of Canada's natural gas industry for about 120 years. Their methanol plant, the Goodyear tire plant, bitcoin mining ⁠— which uses electricity generated from natural gas ⁠— and the future Aurora Cannabis greenhouse (21 football fields) is all based on low-cost natural gas.

Another blow to Alberta's economy . . . .

Hydro and Natural Gas would be my choice for safe clean power generation.....solves a lot of problems....

If you can't make money on natural gas to home furnaces ...make power and sell it to industry and homes....Its sort of like not making money on grain but putting it through a feedlot there is one more step up the chain...

[woodland]

Aw heck why don’t they put the worthless wells into a different company and sell them to “someone” else who then claims bankruptcy and then the province is stuck dealing with them. Seems all the rage up here now. Got four wells in that situation right now and the province is wondering whether full rent or any rent is due on them.

If they had to “pay” someone to take their gas away why wouldn’t you just close the valve on the wells?

Outsider looking in viewpoint.

[bucket]

Send the gas to the Chinook power plant....north of Swift Current....

[jazz]

NG going to be a tough business while US fracking is underway. Guess generate power and sell into the US is another option.

[bucket]

NG going to be a tough business while US fracking is underway. Guess generate power and sell into the US is another option.

Canadians are so stupid they would generate the power in the states with Canadian gas and pay a carbon tax on it to boot....

[walterm]

I'm sure farmers would take it off their hands if they are giving it away. Maybe set up some grain driers close by them or even capture some of the flair gas to dry grain.

[bucket]

I'm sure farmers would take it off their hands if they are giving it away. Maybe set up some grain driers close by them or even capture some of the flair gas to dry grain.

Never talk about something like that......you will be called a socialist....better yet let some capitalist come in and do it that will need provincial funding for an eternity .....

Better yet build a fertilizer plant that uses natural gas and make it affordable for farmers....oh wait Grant Devine did that......and we have to pay NOLA prices....

[helmsdale]

We are just on the northern extent of the MH gas well area... them and COR4 O&G are the only two companies still producing. Every other field has been completely shut in. Cemented in, infrastructure yanked, and most everything sold for scrap. 3406 cats converted to gas, shacks, dehy systems, tanks, the works all getting cut up! The gas play here is DEAD!

[bucket]

Stupid like tearing out railways and consolidating grain elevators. ...but ...what else would happen....the next guys will get royalty holidays to do it all over again....

[poorboy]

I think they have to cement then in and take off all above ground structures or else they still have to pay taxes to the RM's and Counties and possibly to the AB government. Seems a waste to throw it all away only to have to redo it all when gas prices go back up.

Kind of like selling your combine because you get hailed out.

[bucket]

I think they have to cement then in and take off all above ground structures or else they still have to pay taxes to the RM's and Counties and possibly to the AB government. Seems a waste to throw it all away only to have to redo it all when gas prices go back up.

Kind of like selling your combine because you get hailed out.

not really farmers don't anywhere near the tax breaks the new oil and gas company will...same people who have the geologicals on every well drilled....but they need tax breaks to find proven reserves....right?