Well Status Interpretation Guide
Complete reference guide for interpreting every Alberta well status code — what each status means, what it signals for service opportunities, and how to research further.
Alberta well status codes reveal more than regulatory standing — they signal where service demand is emerging, declining, or about to change. This guide decodes every status you will encounter in AER ST37 data and what each one means for your business development workflow.
Primary Well Statuses
| Status | Description | What It Indicates | Service Opportunity Signal | Research Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — Active | Well is licensed and producing or capable of producing. | Operator is generating revenue from this asset. | Ongoing maintenance, workovers, optimization, chemical treatments, artificial lift upgrades. | Check production trends in ST37. Rising production = expansion opportunity. Declining = workover candidate. |
| IA — Inactive | Well is licensed but not currently producing. | Operator has chosen to shut in — may be temporary or strategic. | Reactivation services, recompletions, P&A (plug and abandonment) if permanent. See our inactive wells guide for a full lifecycle breakdown. High signal when combined with recent status change. | Compare current period to historical production. If production was recently active, reactivation is likely. If inactive for 2+ years, P&A may be planned. |
| SU — Suspended | Well is suspended under AER rules — not producing, not abandoned. | Regulatory holding pattern. Operator may be awaiting equipment, permits, or market conditions. | Reactivation services when suspension lifts. Monitor for regulatory deadline pressure. | Check suspension duration. AER has time limits. Approaching deadlines signal upcoming activity. |
| PA — Abandoned (Reclamation Certificate Issued) | Well has been plugged, abandoned, and site reclamation certified by AER. | Operator has completed obligations. Minimal future activity expected. | Low signal. Historical research only. May indicate operator is active in P&A programs in the area. | Use for operator profiling — shows they execute P&A programs. Look for patterns in their abandonment strategy. |
| PR — Abandoned (Reclamation Pending) | Well is plugged and abandoned but reclamation certificate has not been issued. | Operator still has site obligations. Environmental liability remains. | Reclamation and remediation services. Site cleanup. Environmental consulting. | Cluster these by operator and region. Operators with many PR-status wells have active reclamation backlogs. |
| OI — Orphan (Inactive) | Well has been orphaned — operator is insolvent or cannot be located. AEROrphan Well Association manages. | No responsible operator. Public liability. AEROrphan Well Association funds remediation. | Contract work with Orphan Well Association. P&A programs. Reclamation. Government-funded programs. | Monitor AER Orphan Well Association tenders. Track orphan inventory growth by region for pipeline of future work. |
| TA — Temporarily Abandoned | Well is abandoned on a temporary basis under specific AER provisions. | Operator intends to return to the well but has no immediate plans. | Similar to Suspended — reactivation services when operator decides to return. May also signal pending P&A. | Check how long the well has been in TA status. Extended TA often converts to full abandonment. |
Sub-Statuses and Edge Cases
Drilling Status Codes
| Code | Meaning | Service Signal |
|---|---|---|
| D — Drilling | Well is actively being drilled. | Drilling fluids, casing, cementing, mud logging, directional drilling services. |
| C — Completing | Well is being completed (frac, perforation, etc.). | Completion services, frac, stimulation, testing, flowback. |
| E — Evaluating | Well is under evaluation or testing. | Well testing, surface equipment, measurement services. |
| R — Re-entering | Well is being re-entered for sidetrack or recompletion. | Coiled tubing, milling, fishing, recompletion services. |
Common Edge Cases
- Status mismatch: A well shows Active status but zero production in ST37. This often means the well is capable of producing but shut in for economic reasons — a strong signal for cost reduction or optimization services.
- Multi-well sites: A single well pad may have wells in different statuses. Active wells alongside Inactive wells on the same pad suggest the operator is prioritizing certain zones — an opportunity to pitch recompletion services for the inactive wells.
- Status transitions: The most valuable signal is a status change between periods. A well moving from IA to A means reactivation just happened — the operator is spending money. A well moving from A to IA means production just stopped — the operator may need help figuring out why.
- Licence vs. status: A well can have a valid licence but be Inactive or Suspended. The licence shows the operator still holds rights. Dropping the licence entirely (no status) means the operator has relinquished the well.
Using Status Changes for Sales Intelligence
The real power of well status data is tracking transitions over time. FracturingHub lets you compare ST37 datasets across periods to surface exactly these changes:
- IA to A (Reactivation): The operator just committed capital to bring a well back online. High-probability moment for service outreach — they are spending and planning.
- A to IA (Shut-in): Production stopped. The operator may need diagnostics, workover, or optimization. Timing matters — reach out within 1-2 quarters.
- Any status to PA (Abandonment): The operator just executed a P&A program. If they abandoned one well in a field, others may follow. Track their P&A cadence.
- Increasing orphan count: When a region shows orphan count growth, the Orphan Well Association will be contracting work. Position for those tenders.
Regional Patterns in Alberta
Status distributions vary significantly by region. The Deep Basin tends to have higher Active ratios due to economics. The Heavy Oil belt has more Inactive wells due to thermal cycling. The Montney fairway shows high drilling and completion activity. Understanding these regional baselines helps you interpret whether a specific operator's status mix is normal or an opportunity.
Matching Each Status to a Service Line
A well status is only actionable once you connect it to what you sell. Active wells with declining production point to workover, artificial lift, and production optimization services. Recently spudded and drilling wells point to completion, frac, and pressure pumping work. Inactive and Suspended wells point to reactivation, recompletion, or well integrity assessment. Abandoned and Reclamation-Pending wells point to environmental and reclamation services. Before you act on a status list, filter it against your capabilities using the account qualification framework, which weights status counts differently depending on your service line.
Turning Status Data into a Prioritized List
Raw status counts are a starting point, not a plan. Combine status with operator activity and geography to build a ranked outreach list: start with status transitions (the strongest timing signal), layer in operator size and active ratio, then filter by your territory. The well research checklist gives you the per-well workflow, and the operator comparison matrixlets you rank operators by their status mix once you have gathered the data. For monitoring future transitions, a saved watchlist surfaces IA-to-A and A-to-IA changes as they appear in each monthly ST37 release.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often do well statuses change in ST37 data?
ST37 data is released monthly. Status changes can happen at any time between reporting periods. FracturingHub compares consecutive datasets to surface these transitions automatically.
What is the difference between Suspended and Inactive?
Inactive means the well is licensed but not producing — the operator has made a business decision to shut it in. Suspended means the well is in a regulatory holding pattern with specific AER rules and time limits governing how long it can remain suspended.
Can a well go from Abandoned back to Active?
Generally no. Once a well is plugged and abandoned with a reclamation certificate issued (PA status), it cannot be returned to service. However, TA (Temporarily Abandoned) and PR (Reclamation Pending) wells can potentially return to active status under certain conditions.
What does it mean when an operator has many Inactive wells?
A high ratio of Inactive to Active wells can indicate several things: the operator is waiting for better commodity prices, they lack capital for workovers, or they are strategically high-grading their portfolio. Each scenario presents different service opportunities.
How does FracturingHub track orphan wells?
FracturingHub ingests ST37 data that includes orphan status. You can filter by orphan status and track orphan inventory growth by region over time. This helps you anticipate Orphan Well Association contracting activity.
Should I pursue orphan well work?
Orphan well work is contracted through the AER Orphan Well Association and funded by industry levies and government grants. It represents a stable revenue stream, particularly for P&A and reclamation service providers. Monitor Association tender announcements for opportunities.
What does the Active (A) status actually tell me?
Active means the well is licensed and capable of production, but it does not guarantee current flow. Cross-reference with Petrinex production volumes. An Active well with zero recent production is shut in for economic reasons — a strong optimization or workover signal despite the Active label.
What is Temporarily Abandoned (TA) and why does it matter?
TA means the wellbore has been isolated but not permanently plugged, often as a step toward full abandonment or while awaiting a decision. TA wells can sometimes return to service, but many are on a path to PA. They are prime targets for reclamation planning and integrity assessment work.
How do I read a well's status alongside its production data?
Status tells you the regulatory phase; Petrinex production tells you the economic reality. The most useful combinations are Active-with-declining-production (workover signal) and Active-with-zero-production (shut-in signal). Always read the two together rather than relying on status alone.
Why is a status transition more valuable than a static status?
A static status tells you where a well is; a transition tells you the operator just made a decision and is likely spending money. IA-to-A means reactivation capital was just committed. A-to-IA means production just stopped and diagnostics may be needed. Transitions carry timing, which is the hardest signal to get.
How do I find status transitions in ST37 data?
Compare consecutive monthly ST37 datasets and flag wells whose status field changed. Doing this manually across thousands of wells is tedious, so most users automate it. FracturingHub compares periods and surfaces the transitions directly, including new licences and status flips.
What does a high inactive-to-active ratio signal for a frac company?
For a frac or pressure pumping company, a high inactive ratio with little recent drilling is usually a low-priority signal — completion demand is thin. The exception is an operator showing IA-to-A transitions and new licences, which suggests a reactivation and recompletion program that may need stimulation.
How does status differ from the well licence itself?
The licence records who holds the rights to the well; the status records its operational and regulatory phase. A well can hold a valid licence while sitting Inactive or Suspended. If the licence is relinquished entirely, the operator has walked away from the well — a different situation from a shut-in.
Do status codes mean the same thing in BC or Saskatchewan?
No. This guide covers Alberta AER codes. The BC Energy Regulator and Saskatchewan's regulator use their own status taxonomies. If you research across provinces, map each jurisdiction's codes to your service categories separately rather than assuming Alberta definitions apply.
How should reclamation companies read Suspended versus Abandoned status?
Suspended wells are in a regulatory holding pattern with AER time limits — an early signal that reclamation planning may be coming. Abandoned (PA) wells have been plugged and are candidates for surface reclamation and certification. Reclamation-Pending indicates active movement toward a reclamation certificate. Track all three, but weight them by where the demand sits in your workflow.
Can I use status data to time my outreach?
Yes — that is its highest-value use. Set a monitoring watchlist so IA-to-A, A-to-IA, and abandonment transitions surface as they happen, then reach out within one to two quarters while the operator's decision is fresh and budget is allocated.
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This page provides general educational information from FracturingHub. It is not a substitute for professional training, engineering review, regulatory guidance, or site-specific safety instruction. Always confirm requirements with qualified professionals and follow local regulations, site procedures, and safety standards.