Indian Oil and Gas Regulations (SOR/2019-196)

Marginal note:Unforeseen incident

16 An operator must, in the most expeditious manner possible, notify the Minister and the council of any unforeseen incident that occurs during operations carried out under a contract and that results, or could result, in bodily injury or death or in damage to First Nation lands or property. The operator must report the details of the incident, in the prescribed form, as soon as the circumstances permit.

Marginal note:Person accompanying inspector

17 For the purpose of monitoring compliance with the Act and these Regulations, a person may accompany an inspector who is inspecting a contract holder’s facilities and operations on First Nation lands if the person is authorized to do so by a written resolution of the council and the person has the certifications, and complies with the occupational health and safety requirements, required or imposed by the holder or by law.

Marginal note:Payment of rent

• 18 (1) The annual rent that is payable under a contract must be paid on or before the anniversary of the effective date of the contract.

• Marginal note:Refund

  (2) The rent that is payable for the year in which a contract ends must be paid and is not refundable. However, any rent that has been paid for a subsequent year must be refunded.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a contract that provides otherwise and was granted before the day on which these Regulations came into force.

Marginal note:Payment to Receiver General

• 19 (1) All money that is owed to Her Majesty under these Regulations or a contract must be paid to the Receiver General for Canada.

• Marginal note:Purpose of payment

  (2) The money must be accompanied by a statement, in the prescribed form, indicating the purpose for which it is paid.

Marginal note:Amendments

• 20 (1) Any amendment to a contract or a bitumen recovery project requires the prior approval of the council and the Minister.

• Marginal note:Limits

  (2) The Minister must not approve an amendment unless

  • (a) an additional bonus is paid, if necessary, to reflect the fair value, determined in accordance with section 38, of the rights or interests granted by the amendment; and

  • (b) additional surface rates are paid, if necessary, in accordance with subsections 73(2) and (3).

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to an amendment referred to in subsection 12(2) or to one that reduces the area of lands that are subject to a subsurface contract or a bitumen recovery project.

Marginal note:Well data

21 An operator that carries out operations in connection with a well must submit the following documents and information to the Minister and the council within the following time limits:

• (a) before the day on which the well is spudded,

  • (i) a copy of the provincial licence authorizing the drilling of the well and a copy of the licence application,

  • (ii) the drilling and coring plan proposed for the well,

  • (iii) the geological prognosis,

  • (iv) any proposed horizontal drilling plan, and

  • (v) a copy of the surface lease survey plan;

• (b) within 30 days after the day on which the well is rig-released,

  • (i) all daily drilling reports for the period beginning on the day on which the rig move begins and ending on the day of rig-release,

  • (ii) a copy of each wireline log prepared,

  • (iii) the results of any drill-stem test conducted,

  • (iv) a copy of the final downhole well drilling survey, if one is required by the provincial authority,

  • (v) any description, test or analysis resulting from an identification of any well sections that were cored, and

  • (vi) a copy of the geological report, if one is required by the provincial authority;

• (c) within 30 days after the day on which the well is completed,

  • (i) all daily completion reports and the final downhole well schematic,

  • (ii) a copy of each wireline log prepared,

  • (iii) any core and fluid analyses prepared,

  • (iv) any swab reports prepared,

  • (v) the results of any pressure or flow tests conducted, including the results of any surface casing vent flow test,

  • (vi) a hydraulic fracturing fluid component information disclosure report, and

  • (vii) a detailed report of any downhole well intervention or stimulation;

• (d) within 30 days after the day on which any recompletion or workover of the well is completed,

  • (i) all daily recompletion or workover reports,

  • (ii) a copy of each wireline log prepared,

  • (iii) any core and fluid analyses prepared,

  • (iv) any swab reports prepared,

  • (v) the results of any pressure or flow tests conducted, including the results of any surface casing vent flow test,

  • (vi) a hydraulic fracturing fluid component information disclosure report,

  • (vii) a detailed report of any downhole well intervention or stimulation, and

  • (viii) the final downhole well schematic;

• (e) within 30 days after the day on which the well is downhole-abandoned, all daily operation reports relating to the downhole abandonment; and

• (f) within 30 days after the day on which the well is surface-abandoned, all daily operations reports of the cut and cap operation and a copy of the final abandonment report submitted to the provincial authority.

Marginal note:Additional information

22 The operator must submit to the Minister and the council any additional technical information about the well that is necessary to determine its productivity.

Marginal note:Confidential information

• 23 (1) Any information that is submitted to the Minister or a council under the Act must be kept confidential until the end of the period in which such information must be kept confidential under the laws of the relevant province, unless the person that submitted it consents in writing to its disclosure.

• Marginal note:Seismic data

  (2) Despite subsection (1), seismic data submitted by an exploration licence holder under paragraph 33(3)(a) may be disclosed by the Minister or the council on the earlier of

  • (a) if the holder also holds a subsurface lease or permit in lands in the licence area, the day on which the lease expires or is continued, the initial term of the permit expires or, in the case of a permit issued under the Indian Oil and Gas Regulations, 1995, the permit is converted to one or more leases, and

  • (b) the fifth anniversary of the day on which the exploration work is completed.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (3) Any interpretation of seismic data, including maps, that is submitted to the Minister or a council under the Act may be disclosed only if the person that submitted it consents in writing to its disclosure.

• Marginal note:Disclosure to council

  (4) Despite subsections (1) to (3), the Minister may at any time disclose

  • (a) confidential information to a council if required to do so by the Act, any regulations made under the Act or a contract; and

  • (b) the results of an environmental review referred to in subsection 29(3), 57(2) or 75(2) to a council or the public.

Marginal note:Incorrect information

24 A person that submits information to the Minister and becomes aware that it is incorrect must submit the correct information to the Minister as soon as the circumstances permit.

Marginal note:Approval of assignment

• 25 (1) Any assignment of any of the rights or interests conferred by a contract must be approved by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Meeting

  (2) Before the application for approval is submitted to the Minister, the assignee must meet with the council unless the council waives the meeting. The meeting must be face to face, unless the parties agree to another mode of meeting.

• Marginal note:Expenses

  (3) Any expense relating to the request for, preparation for or attendance at a meeting must be borne by the party that incurs the expense.

• Marginal note:Application for approval

  (4) The application for approval must be in the prescribed form and include a statement by the assignee that a meeting with the council took place or that the council waived the meeting. The application must be accompanied by the assignment approval application fee set out in Schedule 1.

• Marginal note:Copy to council

  (5) The applicant must send the council a copy of the application for approval on or before the day on which the application is submitted to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Refusal to approve

  (6) The Minister must not approve the assignment if

  • (a) it is conditional;

  • (b) it would result in more than five persons having a right or interest in the contract;

  • (c) it assigns an undivided right or interest in the contract that is less than 1%;

  • (d) it divides the oil and gas rights or interests conferred by the contract;

  • (e) the assignee is not eligible under section 6;

  • (f) the assignment was not signed by the assignor and assignee; or

  • (g) the assignee fails to establish that they have the financial ability to fulfill the assignor’s obligations under the Act with respect to remediation and reclamation.

• Marginal note:Minister’s decision

  (7) If the Minister approves the assignment and signs it, he or she must send a copy to the assignor and assignee and a notice of the approval to the council.

• Marginal note:Effective date

  (8) The assignment takes effect on the day on which the Minister approves it unless it provides for a different effective day.

Marginal note:Liability

• 26 (1) If the assignment is approved, the assignor and assignee are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for any obligation owing and any liability arising under the contract before the day on which the assignment is approved, even if the contract is subsequently assigned.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an assignment that is approved before the coming into force of these Regulations.

Terms and Conditions To Be Included in Every Contract

Marginal note:Compliance with laws

• 27 (1) Every contract granted by the Minister under these Regulations includes the holder’s undertaking to comply with

  • (a) the Indian Act, and any orders made under that Act, as amended from time to time;

  • (b) the Act, and any regulations or orders made under the Act, as amended from time to time; and

  • (c) the laws of the relevant province, as amended from time to time, that relate to the environment or to the exploration for, or the exploitation, treatment, processing or conservation of, oil and gas, including equitable production, if those laws are not in conflict with the Act or any regulations or orders made under the Act.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency — Acts, regulations and orders

  (2) The provisions of any Act, regulation or order referred to in subsection (1) prevail over any terms and conditions of the contract, except for any terms and conditions respecting royalties that are the subject of a special agreement under subsection 4(2) of the Act, to the extent of any inconsistency. The provisions of any Act of Parliament, or any regulation or order made under an Act of Parliament, referred to in subsection (1) prevail over the laws of the province referred to in subsection (1), to the extent of any inconsistency.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency — interpretation

  (3) For the purposes of this section, provisions — whether legislative or contractual — are not inconsistent unless it is impossible for the holder to comply with both.

Exploration

Authorization

Marginal note:Authorization to explore

28 A person may carry out exploration work on First Nation lands if they

• (a) hold an exploration licence;

• (b) have obtained from the provincial authority any approval that is required to carry out exploration work in the province; and

• (c) are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the licence and the approval.

Application for Exploration Licence

Marginal note:Preliminary negotiation

• 29 (1) Before applying for an exploration licence, an applicant and the council must agree on the location of the proposed seismic lines and on the seismic rates, if those rates have not already been fixed in a related subsurface contract.

• Marginal note:Application for exploration licence

  (2) The application must be submitted to the Minister in the prescribed form and include

  • (a) the terms and conditions negotiated with the council;

  • (b) if the approval of the provincial authority is required to carry out exploration work, a statement that the approval has been received;

  • (c) a description of the proposed exploration program, including the licence area, the exploration work to be carried out, the equipment to be used, the name of the geophysical contractor to be engaged and the anticipated duration of the work;

  • (d) the results of an environmental review of the proposed exploration program that has been conducted by a qualified environmental professional who deals with the applicant at arm’s length; and

  • (e) the exploration licence application fee set out in Schedule 1.

• Marginal note:Environmental review

  (3) The results of the environmental review must be submitted in the prescribed form and include

  • (a) a site evaluation that is based on the site’s topography, soils, vegetation, wildlife, sources of water, existing structures, archeological and cultural resources, traditional ecological knowledge, current land uses and any other feature of the site that could be affected by the proposed exploration program;

  • (b) a description of the operations to be carried out during the proposed exploration program, the duration of each and its location on the site;

  • (c) a description of the short-term and long-term effects that each operation could have on the environment of the site and on any surrounding areas;

  • (d) a description of the proposed mitigation measures, the potential residual effects after mitigation and the significance of those effects; and

  • (e) a description of the consultations undertaken with the council and the First Nation members.

• Marginal note:Environmental protection measures

  (4) If the exploration program can be carried out without causing irremediable damage to the First Nation lands, the Minister must send the application to the applicant and the council, along with a letter that sets out the environmental protection measures that must be implemented to permit the licence holder to carry out their exploration program.

• Marginal note:Submission of documents

  (5) To obtain the exploration licence, the applicant must, within 90 days after the day on which the reviewed application is received, submit to the Minister three copies of the environmental protection measures letter and three original copies of the application signed by the applicant, along with a written resolution of the council approving the licence.

• Marginal note:Exploration licence

  (6) If the requirements set out in this section are met, the Minister must grant the exploration licence for a period of one year. The terms and conditions of the licence are those set out in the application and the environmental protection measures letter. The licence takes effect on the day on which it is signed by the Minister.