Oil sands payments

Payment methods

All remittances involving oil sands Crown royalty must be made payable to the Government of Alberta. In addition to the Alberta Energy and Minerals payments page, the following payment options are also available.

Bitumen Royalty in Kind (BRIK) Credit

Oil sands Crown royalty payment obligation can also be fulfilled by submitting BRIK Credit Certificate(s) issued by Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (APMC). However, the operator has to ensure that the BRIK certificate is valid and has the value as indicated in the Payment Allocation Summary before it is submitted for redemption.

Payment allocation information must accompany the certificate and must be sent to [email protected] with subject line “Oil Sands Payment Allocation Details” on or before the payment due date.

Payment Allocation Requirements

To ensure accurate allocation of payments:

• The payment allocation information must include the Activity ID(s) and Payment Amount(s). If a remittance contains payments other than oil sands Crown royalty, the activity id(s) for those payments must be indicated.
• Allocation information must reconcile with the total remittance.
• If incomplete or incorrect, Alberta Energy and Minerals may allocate payments at its discretion, which may result in interest charges.

Payment allocation

To enable accurate allocation of payments to accounts, payment allocation information must accompany each payment. The payment allocation information must be received by the ministry's financial services branch on or before the day of the deposit. If it is not, the payment may be returned or applied to activity ID(s) determined by Alberta Energy and Minerals.

There may be interest implications when deposits are returned or when deposits are transferred back to the correct activity ID(s) due to missing or inaccurate payment allocation details.

The payment allocation information must contain the activity ID(s) and payment amount(s). If a remittance contains payments other than oil sands Crown royalty, the activity ID(s) for those payments must be indicated.

The total payment allocations must reconcile to the remittance or they may be allocated as determined by Alberta Energy and Minerals. There may be interest implications associated with the resulting allocations.

Mailed or delivered payments

For payments mailed or delivered to Alberta Energy and Minerals' offices, the payment allocation information must be provided on the cheque stub. Or it can be provided on a separate document attached to the cheque.

RapidTrans deposits

The payment allocation information must be provided on the RapidTrans deposit slip.

A copy of the information must also be sent on the day of the deposit, by 1 of these methods:

• Fax to ministry's financial services – Cashiers at 780-422-4281
• Email to: [email protected]. Include “Oil Sands Payment Allocation Details” in the subject line.

Electronic funds transfers

The payment allocation information must be sent on the day of the deposit, by 1 of these methods:

• Fax to ministry's financial services – Cashiers at 780-422-4281
• Email to: [email protected]. Include “Oil Sands Payment Allocation Details” in the subject line.

Example of a Payment Allocation Summary

Operator Name: ######## 
Operator Id: #### 
Remittance Reference: ###### 
Remittance Date: YYYY-MM-DD 
Remittance Amount: $2,500 

Credit balances and transfers

Unless otherwise directed, credit balances will be retained in the same account (project/activity ID) but will not accrue interest. They will be applied to future month’s penalties, interest and Crown royalty compensation owing. At Alberta Energy and Minerals' discretion, account balances may be applied to offset other payables of the operator/lessee.

If an operator does not wish to keep a credit balance in an account to offset against the next month’s payables, the operator may:

• request to refund the balance
• request to transfer the credit to another account (Project/Activity ID)

Requests should be sent to the Oil Sands Report Mailbox at [email protected]. For account transfers, allow 3 business days for processing.

If the credit transfer is to offset an upcoming payment, please ensure the request is made at least 3 business days prior to the payment due date. Interest may apply if the transfer cannot be completed by the payment due date as a result of late notification to Alberta Energy and Minerals.

If the credit is the result of an End of Period Statement refund for the initial End of Period filing, requests to transfer the credit will not be accepted prior to the last day of the 4th month following the end of the Period pursuant to section 33(13) of the Oil Sands Royalty Regulation, 2009 (OSRR'09).

Notwithstanding the preceding

Alberta Energy and Minerals reserves the right to:

• Refund any credit balance at any time
• Use its discretion to apply payments in accordance with Section 46 of the OSRR'09. Prior to the issuance of a refund, the ministry may reallocate credits to set off against any amount owing to the Crown by the operator pursuant to Section 46(4) of the Mines and Minerals Act. Interest may apply to any resulting underpayments.

Application of payments

Unless the minister otherwise directs, payments will be applied in accordance with Section 46 of the Oil Sands Royalty Regulation, 2009.

Contact

Connect with Oil Sands, Coal and Mineral Operations:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)

Email:
Oil Sands Royalty Project Applications and Compliance [email protected]
Oil Sands Royalty Administration [email protected]
Oil Sands Royalty Information Management [email protected]
Oil Sands Tenure [email protected]

Mailing Address:
Alberta Energy and Minerals
Oil Sands, Coal and Mineral Operations
6th floor, Petroleum Plaza, North Tower
9945 108 Street
Edmonton Alberta  T5K 2G6