42. Subsection 71(5) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

• 43. (1) Subsection 76(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (2) No order may be made under subsection (1) with respect to any interest owner who has completed a well on the relevant portion of the offshore area within six months after the completion of that well.

• (2) Subsection 76(3) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Condition

    (3) Il ne peut être pris d’arrêté de forage dans les trois ans qui suivent la date d’abandon du puits qui a mis en évidence une découverte importante.

• (3) Subsection 76(5) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Définition de « date d’abandon du puits »

    (5) Pour l’application du paragraphe (3), la date d’abandon du puits est celle à laquelle le puits a été abandonné ou complété ou son exploitation suspendue conformément aux règlements applicables en matière de forage.

44. Subsection 99(2) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

45. Section 118 of the Act is amended by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by repealing paragraph (e).

• 46. (1) The definition date d’abandon du forage in subsection 119(1) of the French version of the Act is repealed.

• (2) The definition “well termination date” in subsection 119(1) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:

  “well termination date”

  « date d’abandon du puits »

  “well termination date” means the date on which a well has been abandoned, completed or suspended in accordance with any applicable regulations respecting the drilling for petroleum made under Part III.

• (3) Subsection 119(1) of the French version of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

  « date d’abandon du puits »

  “well termination date”

  date d’abandon du puits Date à laquelle le puits a été abandonné ou complété ou son exploitation suspendue conformément aux règlements applicables en matière de forage pris sous le régime de la partie III.

• (4) Subsection 119(2) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Protection des renseignements

    (2) Sous réserve de l’article 18 et des autres dispositions du présent article, les renseignements fournis pour l’application de la présente partie, de la partie III ou de leurs règlements, sont, que leur fourniture soit obligatoire ou non, protégés et nul ne peut, sciemment, les communiquer sans le consentement écrit de la personne qui les a fournis, si ce n’est pour l’application de ces parties ou dans le cadre de procédures judiciaires relatives intentées à cet égard.

• (5) Paragraphs 119(5)(a) to (c) of the French version of the Act are replaced by the following:

  • a) un puits d’exploration, si les renseignements proviennent effectivement du forage du puits et si deux ans se sont écoulés depuis la date d’abandon du puits;

  • b) un puits de délimitation, s’ils proviennent effectivement du forage du puits et si deux ans se sont écoulés depuis la date d’abandon du puits d’exploration en cause ou si quatre-vingt-dix jours se sont écoulés depuis la date d’abandon du puits de délimitation, selon la dernière des éventualités à survenir;

  • c) un puits d’exploitation, s’ils proviennent effectivement du forage du puits et si deux ans se sont écoulés depuis la date d’abandon du puits d’exploration en cause ou si soixante jours se sont écoulés depuis la date d’abandon du puits d’exploitation, selon la dernière des éventualités à survenir;

• (6) Section 119 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):

  • Marginal note:Disclosure — governments and agencies

    (6) The Board may disclose any information or documentation that it obtains under this Part or Part III — to officials of the Government of Canada, the Government of the Province or any other provincial government, or a foreign government or to the representatives of any of their agencies — for the purposes of a federal, provincial or foreign law, as the case may be, that deals primarily with a petroleum-related work or activity, including the exploration for and the management, administration and exploitation of petroleum resources, if

    • (a) the government or agency undertakes to keep the information or documentation confidential and not to disclose it without the Board’s written consent;

    • (b) the information and documentation is disclosed in accordance with any conditions agreed to by the Board and the government or agency; and

    • (c) in the case of disclosure to a foreign government or agency, the Federal Minister and Provincial Minister consent in writing.

  • Marginal note:Disclosure — Minister

    (7) The Board may disclose to the Federal Minister and Provincial Minister the information or documentation that it has disclosed or intends to disclose under subsection (6), but the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister are not to further disclose that information or documentation unless the Board consents in writing to that disclosure or the Federal Minister or the Provincial Minister is required by an Act of Parliament or an Act of the Legislature of the Province, as the case may be, to disclose that information or documentation.

  • Marginal note:Consent

    (8) For the purposes of paragraph (6)(a) and subsection (7), the Board may consent to the further disclosure of information or documentation only if the Board itself is authorized under this section to disclose it.

  • Marginal note:Applicant and proposed work or activity

    (9) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information regarding the applicant for an operating licence or authorization under subsection 138(1) or the scope, purpose, location, timing and nature of the proposed work or activity for which the licence or authorization is sought.

  • Marginal note:Public hearing

    (10) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information or documentation provided for the purposes of a public hearing conducted under section 44.1.

  • Marginal note:Safety or environmental protection

    (11) Subject to section 119.1, the Board may disclose all or part of any information or documentation related to safety or environmental protection that is provided in relation to an application for an operating licence or authorization under subsection 138(1), or to an operating licence or authorization that is issued under that subsection or provided in accordance with any regulations made under this Part or Part III. The Board is not, however, permitted to disclose information or documentation if the Board is satisfied that

    • (a) disclosure of it could reasonably be expected to result in a material loss or gain to a person, or to prejudice their competitive position, and the potential harm resulting from the disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the disclosure;

    • (b) it is financial, commercial, scientific or technical information or documentation that is confidential and has been consistently treated as such by a person who would be directly affected by its disclosure, and for which the person’s interest in confidentiality outweighs the public interest in its disclosure; or

    • (c) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of it will impair the security of pipelines, as defined in section 135, installations, vessels, aircraft, or systems, including computer or communication systems, used for any work or activity in respect of which this Act applies — or methods employed to protect them — and the need to prevent its disclosure outweighs the public interest in its disclosure.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (12) Subsections (9) to (11) do not apply in respect of information or documentation described in paragraphs (5)(a) to (e) and (i).

47. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 119: