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Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre announced Friday morning the province鈥檚 new inactive well program, which will access $400 million over two years.

The Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP) will focus on the abandonment and reclamation of inactive oil and gas wells and facilities with the goal of 鈥済etting Saskatchewan people back to work.鈥�

鈥淭his is important environmental work, and it is important for long-term energy development,鈥� said Eyre.

鈥淎s we work towards economic recovery, this program will get Saskatchewan people back to work,鈥� she added.

The funding is subject to the conclusion of an agreement with Canada through the federal COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

According to the province, the program will be overseen by the Ministry of Energy and Resources and delivered in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). The program will prioritize Saskatchewan-based service companies and support 2,100 full-time equivalent jobs.

Eyre added the ASCP will be rolled out in several phases, with the funding component of the program administered by the SRC. She said phase one will allocate up to $100 million in funding to Saskatchewan service companies contracted to do abandonment and reclamation work.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 also important to emphasize this is work that was already being done in the province prior to this announcement,鈥� said Eyre.

鈥淲e had a strong record going into this crisis,鈥� she added.

Eyre said last year the province cleaned up over 2,000 wells, which was up 40 per cent since 2018 and 240 per cent since 2016.

鈥淭his was done and paid for by oil companies, not taxpayers,鈥� said Eyre.

According to Eyre, SaskBuilds has 鈥減rocurement and supplier development expertise鈥� which will make sure Saskatchewan-based companies take advantage of the program and get the work.

Eyre said there is a great deal of work involved in allocating the first phase. She added as soon as phase one is rolled out, the province will definitely be 鈥渇ormulating and gearing up鈥� for phase two.

鈥淲e want it to be before winter of course, which is a major factor here,鈥� said Eyre.

Over 8,000 wells and facilities will be abandoned and reclaimed over the life of the program.