RMA has released a report analyzing the Government of Alberta's recently released Mature Asset Strategy (MAS) final report. The MAS was launched in summer 2024 with the intent of developing a series of recommendations to support continued operations of and manage liabilities associated with Alberta's aging oil and gas assets. RMA participated in three of the six MAS working groups.

The response document is divided into the following sections:

• MAS Process
  • Lack of Definition of "Mature Asset"
  • Stakeholder Involvement
  • Inconsistent Use of Data
  • Municipal Data
  • Mature Asset Locations
  • Municipal Tax Impacts
• Defining Success
• Property Taxes and Mature Assets
• Recommendation Analysis
• Conclusion and next steps

RMA appreciates the intent of the MAS and supports a policy-based approach to balancing long-term industry viability with accountability for regulatory obligations and end-of-life liability management. However, as the response document explains, the MAS process was not structured in a way that allowed for critical, data-supported discussion and recommendation development. It did not include a clear definition of the issue, scope, analysis of impacts of the recommendations on industry and other non-industry stakeholders, or even a clear definition or inventory of a "mature asset."

Given the weaknesses of the process that led to the 21 recommendations in the MAS final report, RMA expects that the Government of Alberta will undertake fulsome stakeholder engagement that includes both industry and non-industry perspectives prior to implementing any MAS recommendations.