The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic was shocking for many reasons, and to many industries. One of those initially hit hardest was oil and gas. While shutdowns affected everything from restaurants to retail stores, not many saw the price of their primary product go into negative territory, if only briefly. Oil did, in April, 2020.
For Saskatchewan, oil, the second-largest industry after agriculture, was in serious trouble. Enormous numbers people were being laid off in almost every oilfield-related company. Activity ground to a stop, as did revenue. Calls to the federal government for support were indeed answered, with $400 million from the Government of Canada to properly abandon and clean up inactive wells and flowlines. The program came to be known as the Accelerated Site Closure Program. It was administered by the Saskatchewan Research Council.