Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. said Wednesday it has filed a $15 million claim against the government of Alberta, Canada and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and the Energy Resources Conservation Board of Alberta.
The suit in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta seeks money for damage caused to Nordic’s 11-13-38-25 W4 well in Joffre, Alberta.
Winnipeg-based Nordic and its sister company, Desoto Resources Limited, are claiming the Alberta government willfully damaged the well and associated reservoir through the use of unreasonable abandonment methods.
They’re also claiming the defendants “pre-emptively proceeded with abandonment” despite the well being no threat to anyone’s life or property.
“The damaged well has caused us to suffer innumerable hardships, including loss of income, and loss of capital appreciation of the Company’s assets,” Donald Benson, Nordic’s chairman and CEO said.
Nordic said the damage occurred during the time that the courts of Alberta were considering Nordic’s appeal of its claim “to the rightful ownership of the well in question and the mineral rights upon which the well was drilled.”
An appeal court ruled on April 1, 2011 in favor of Nordic, the company said, and “the mineral lease and well ownership have been subsequently restored” in Nordic’s name.
Nordic and Desoto want specific damages of $5,000,000 for the recovery of costs associated with the drilling and testing of the well and lost income from not being able to produce from the well.
And they want punitive damages of $10,000,000 for “the high handed conduct by the Defendant in the deliberate, wilful breach of its duty and obligations, and callous disregard for the rights and interests” of Nordic and Desoto.
Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. is a junior oil and gas company carrying out exploration and development of oil, natural gas and coal bed methane in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
It’s listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trades under the symbol NOG.
Nordic was one of the “2008 TSX Venture 50” companies, a ranking of the top 10 public venture capital companies in five industry sectors listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
