How Sacred Soil Is Changing the Game for Orphan Wells and Industrial Abandonments
Reclaiming the Irrecoverable
It’s one thing to drill a hole in the ground.
It’s another to fill it back in, properly, affordably, and in a way that makes everyone whole again.
Across Western Canada, thousands of orphan wells, legacy oil leases, and abandoned industrial sites sit like half-finished sentences on the landscape. They leak liabilities, financial, environmental, and reputational, for regulators, operators, and the communities who live nearby.
And while billions are earmarked for cleanup, most traditional remediation methods haven’t changed in decades, until now.
A New Way Forward: Sacred Soil
Sacred Soil is an in-place, spray-on soil remediation product developed by Indigenous-led firm Sacred Soil. It directly addresses the most persistent forms of land contamination, hydrocarbons, oil, and salt, without excavation.
Here’s what sets it apart:
- No dig, no truck, no landfill.
- Approved in Canada and the U.S.
- Cuts remediation costs by 50% or more.
It’s fast, effective, and engineered for the mass-scale reality of today's wellsite and lease abandonments.
The Bigger Picture: Billions in Work, Not Enough Workers
In Alberta alone, over 170,000 inactive wells are on the books. British Columbia and Saskatchewan face similar backlogs. Federal and provincial governments have pledged funds through site rehabilitation programs, but execution has been the bottleneck.
That’s where Sacred Soil fits.
Its application model is scalable, field-proven, and designed for partnerships, with municipalities, First Nations, energy companies, and the service providers who do the work.
Not Just a Product. A Partnership Model.
What makes Sacred Soil stand out isn’t just the technology, it’s the team behind it.
As an Indigenous-led organization, Sacred Soil provides:
- Consultation & community engagement for projects in or near Indigenous territories
- Environmental services & cultural guidance on reclamation plans
- Strategic planning that aligns business goals with local values
That matters. Especially in places where historical mistrust or past harms still shape relationships. Sacred Soil becomes a cultural interpreter, helping all sides move forward in good faith.
For the Sector, By the Sector
This isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a next-move solution.
- E&P firms can lower clean-up costs and meet closure targets.
- Contractors can add a proven method to their remediation offering.
- Nations and landowners can be active partners, not bystanders, in land recovery.
And for the growing number of funds, investors, and insurers tying ESG outcomes to dollars deployed, Sacred Soil is an Indigenous-led solution that delivers both impact and accountability.
Reclaim Smarter. Partner Better. Build Trust.
We often talk about reconciliation as a value. But what Sacred Soil offers is reconciliation as a service model, one that is revenue-generating, results-driven, and rooted in respect.
If the goal is to return the land to something better, healthier, safer, more just, then this is where the industry’s attention should be:
- A scalable, non-disruptive cleanup solution.
- A team with cultural fluency and technical capacity.
- And a model that lets remediation dollars go further, faster.
To explore how Sacred Soil can support your orphan well, industrial abandonment, or reclamation program, visit sacredsoil.ca or start the conversation today.
