44 ‘serious’ leaks reported at B.C. oil and gas sites in the past year

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and the Investigative Journalism Foundation.

Oil and gas companies operating in British Columbia have reported 44 “serious” leaks at wellsites over the past year, according to publicly available BC Energy Regulator records. 

A leak is designated serious if it releases more than 300 cubic metres per day of methane or includes hydrogen sulphide — a gas that can cause symptoms like headaches, nausea and dizziness at relatively low concentrations. A leak is also considered serious if it leaches contaminated water or oil into the surrounding environment, according to the regulator’s oil and gas operations manual.

Leaks of methane and other gases were among those reported. At seven sites, hydrogen sulfide leaks were also recorded, including at one well emitting the gas at a concentration of 5,000 parts per million. Hydrogen sulfide emissions can be deadly. At levels above 1,000 parts per million, they can result in “unconsciousness, cessation of respiration and death in a few minutes,” according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control.

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Amanda Bryant, a senior oil and gas analyst at the Pembina Institute, said the conditions that qualify a leak as serious “mean a significant risk to environment and health could be present.” 

“Groundwater contamination is also clearly a serious concern,” she explained in an emailed response to questions. “When it comes to potential emissions, based on average Canadian residential gas consumption, 300 cubic metres of gas per day … could power 43 Canadian homes per day.”

The documented leaks highlight some of the potential environmental risks of B.C.’s burgeoning oil and gas sector, which is poised to expand significantly to supply new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects. The majority of B.C.’s gas is extracted through hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking.

All the wells reporting serious leaks since March 2024 “have mitigations in place to control the identified hazards,” according to the regulator. In its emailed statement, the regulator said the numbers in the database “do not necessarily indicate an ongoing release, but rather capability of flow.” The regulator did not specify which, if any, of the reported leaks are ongoing.

Over the past three years, oil and gas companies reported 160 serious leaks, while 252 were reported over the past five years. The BC Energy Regulator database, which includes a handful of reports from the late 1990s and early 2000s, records 659 leaks deemed serious. Of those, 340 were from active wells, 55 from suspended wells and 127 from abandoned (the industry term for permanently sealing a well.)

Of 252 ‘serious’ leaks reported in five years, BC Energy Regulator issued four orders and one fine

The regulator has a variety of enforcement tools it can use to bring companies into compliance, including issuing safety orders and imposing financial penalties. In an emailed response to follow-up questions, the regulator said it had issued four enforcement orders and one administrative penalty related to surface casing leaks at two wells in the past five years. 

A $10,000 penalty was issued to Petronas In October 2024 after the regulator determined the company’s history of non-compliance and the seriousness of the issue — gas emissions exceeding the allowable amount — warranted the fine. The other leaking well, owned by Pavilion Energy, within one kilometre of a private residence, was found in 2020 to be leaking at a rate of more than 4,700 cubic metres of gas per day. After numerous problems with the well, a connected pipeline and related infrastructure, the regulator issued three orders in 2024. Pavilion “complied with the provisions” of each order and is currently in compliance, according to the regulator.

According to the database, companies also reported nearly 7,000 smaller leaks over the same time period the regulator deemed “non serious,” as well as 164 leaks whose severity was listed as “unknown.”

“Leaks like this underline the importance of good regulation and enforcement of that regulation that prompts operators to fix these leaks as quickly as possible,” Bryant said.

The regulator estimates B.C.’s oil and gas production has grown nearly 29 per cent in the past five years. In 2023 — the last year for which the regulator provides public data — 524 new well applications were approved, compared to 378 the previous year. 

“Each data entry is a point in time and may not reflect the current state of emissions, if any, from the well,” the regulator said, adding companies are required to check for evidence of leaks as part of routine maintenance and submit the results.

An investigation by The Narwhal and the Investigative Journalism Foundation revealed the regulator’s inspectors frequently spotted infractions at oil and gas sites but did not take enforcement action. In its emailed responses, the regulator said it is striving to be more transparent and recently made new data public.

Close to 290 oil and gas companies currently operate 6,596 facilities in B.C. Those companies produced nearly 15 billion cubic metres of gas between December 2024 and February 2025, according to regulator records. When Canada’s first major LNG export facility, LNG Canada, starts production this year, gas extraction in the northeast is expected to skyrocket.