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The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the trustee in April 2017 in a 2-1 decision but the provincial government and Alberta Energy Regulator has challenged that decision.

Notably, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed the lone dissenting judge in that decision, Justice Sheilah Martin, to the Supreme Court in Nov. 2017.

Since the lower court decision, the AER has implemented a series of new regulations that would make it more difficult for insolvent oil and gas companies to disclaim their obligation to clean up old and idle oil and gas wells and facilities.

Analysts expect more regulations will be rolled out after the decision and the AER has confirmed that it is rolling out its new “Remediation Regulation,” replacing the former “Remediation Certificate Regulation,” through 2019.

“Regardless of the decision, we believe the AER (and other jurisdictions) will likely implement new proactive requirements related to abandonment liabilities,” Raymond James analysts wrote in a research note published Monday.

The analysts also believe the decision could have implications for banks, apart from junior and intermediate oil producers’ access to capital.

“If the AER wins, the direction from the banks is going to be bank (credit) lines being cut because these banks will be ranking second behind the abandonment liabilities,” Raymond James analyst Jeremy McCrea said in an interview.

“It means the banks will be assuming these liabilities,” he said.