Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Petroleum Operations Framework Regulations (SOR/2024-26)

Marginal note:Requirements

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  101 (1) An operator must ensure that a work permit that is required under this Part is issued in either paper or electronic form, is approved by a person other than the one who issued it and sets out the following information:

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    (a) the name of the person who issued it and the person who approved it;

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    (b) the name of each person to whom it is issued;

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    (c) the periods during which it is valid;

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    (d) the work or activity to which it relates, the location at which the work or activity is to be carried out and any conditions to which the carrying out of the work or activity is subject; and

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    (e) any circumstances under which the work or activity is to be carried out that may have an effect on the safety and environmental risks associated with it, including

    • (i) physical and environmental conditions,

    • (ii) any impediments to the proper use of any system or equipment, and

    • (iii) any other activities being carried out in the area, with reference to the permit or certificate associated with those activities, if applicable.

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  Marginal note:Signatures

  (2) The work permit must bear the signatures of the person who issued it, the person who approved it and every person involved in the work or activity to which it relates, certifying that they have read and understood its contents.

Marginal note:Operator obligations

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  102 (1) An operator must ensure that

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    (a) any work or activity that requires a work permit is done in accordance with the permit; and

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    (b) any work permit that is issued is made readily accessible for the duration of the work or activity to which it relates.

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  Marginal note:Retention of copy

  (2) The operator must retain a copy of each work permit for at least three years after the day on which the work or activity to which it relates is completed.

Marginal note:Innovations

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  103 (1) An operator must ensure that any technology, including any technology that is used in relation to materials, design methods, joining techniques or construction techniques, that has not been previously used in comparable situations is not used in relation to an installation unless

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    (a) engineering studies, prototypes or model tests demonstrate that the technology is safe and fit for the purposes for which it is to be used; and

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    (b) the technology is verified by a competent third party, in accordance with industry standards and best practices for technology qualification.

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  Marginal note:Technology qualification program

  (2) The operator must develop a technology qualification program that sets out the performance monitoring and inspection measures that are necessary to determine the effectiveness of any technology referred to in subsection (1) that it intends to use.

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  Marginal note:Program implementation and update

  (3) The operator must ensure that the program is implemented and periodically updated.

Marginal note:Physical and environmental conditions

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  104 (1) An operator must ensure that an installation is designed to withstand or avoid all foreseeable site-specific physical and environmental conditions, or any foreseeable combination of those conditions, without compromising its structural integrity or that of any of its systems or equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment.

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  Marginal note:Criteria

  (2) The operator must ensure that the design of an installation is based on criteria that are determined using evidence-based regional and site-specific data, statistical analysis and modelling of physical and environmental conditions, including

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    (a) oceanographic conditions, including any completely or partially submerged potential navigational hazards;

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    (b) meteorological conditions, including the number of daylight hours;

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    (c) geotechnical conditions and geohazards;

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    (d) ice conditions and any other conditions associated with cold regions; and

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    (e) any other physical and environmental conditions or naturally occurring phenomena that may adversely affect the installation.

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  Marginal note:Ice conditions

  (3) The operator must ensure that an installation that is to be operated where ice conditions may exist is designed and operated to

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    (a) minimize or avoid environmental loads associated with ice or ice and snow accumulation on the installation, including on its structural components;

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    (b) ensure that the ice conditions will not adversely affect the functionality of any systems or equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment;

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    (c) protect risers, offloading systems and other subsea systems from the ice conditions; and

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    (d) in the case of a mobile offshore platform or vessel,

    • (i) prevent damage to propulsion or positioning systems from the ice conditions, and

    • (ii) ensure safe transit through ice-infested waters.

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  Marginal note:Redundancy

  (4) The operator must ensure that there is redundancy included in any measures implemented for the purpose of paragraph (3)(a) in relation to ice and snow accumulation and removal.

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  Marginal note:Cold climate — safety plan and environmental protection plan

  (5) The operator must ensure that an installation that is to be operated in a cold climate is designed, winterized and operated in accordance with the measures referred to in clauses 9(2)(b)(v)(B) and 10(2)(b)(v)(B) that are described in the operator’s safety plan and environmental protection plan, respectively.

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  Marginal note:Cold climate — design

  (6) An installation that is to be operated in a cold climate must be designed to

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    (a) ensure the functionality in that climate of the installation and all of its systems and equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment, including in the case of property changes in fluids; and

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    (b) prevent any impact or damage to electrical cabling in open or unheated spaces and ensure that the cabling maintains its properties under cold-climate conditions.

Marginal note:Design for intended use and location

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  105 (1) An operator must ensure that the structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, are designed for their intended use and location, taking into account

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    (a) the nature of the works and activities to be undertaken on and around the installation and the hazards associated with those works and activities;

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    (b) material properties and dimensions of the installation that may vary over time;

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    (c) failure modes; and

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    (d) applicable safety factors.

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  Marginal note:Analyses, tests, modelling and investigations

  (2) The design of the structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, must be based on any analyses, model tests, numerical modelling and site investigations that are necessary to determine the behaviour of the installation and of the soils that support it or its mooring systems under all foreseeable operating, construction, transportation and installation conditions — including those involving geohazards — and under all foreseeable loads during the design service life of the installation.

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  Marginal note:Design criteria

  (3) The structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, must be designed to

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    (a) withstand extreme loads that may occur during their construction and anticipated use;

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    (b) perform as intended during their operation under all anticipated normal loads;

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    (c) not fail under repeated loads;

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    (d) prevent damage that is disproportionate to the cause;

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    (e) prevent localized damage from leading to progressive or complete loss of integrity of the structure;

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    (f) maintain structural integrity for the time necessary to safely evacuate all persons from the installation in the event of major damage caused by foreseeable hazards;

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    (g) in the case of a floating platform,

    • (i) have sufficient stability and buoyancy reserve in the case of damage to ensure that credible scenarios of unintended flooding, if realized, do not result in the loss of the structure, and

    • (ii) incorporate sufficient redundancy in station-keeping systems to ensure that the structure can withstand the loss of a station-keeping component; and

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    (h) in the case of a self-elevating mobile offshore platform, withstand all loads to which the platform may be subjected in each mode of operation, including in the elevated position and during its removal.

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  Marginal note:Accidental loads

  (4) For the purposes of paragraphs (3)(d) to (f) and (h), the design must take into account all credible accidental load scenarios, including collisions between the installation and a vessel or aircraft.

Marginal note:Conditions for safe operation and survival

106 Based on the results of any analyses, tests, modelling or investigations undertaken under subsection 105(2), the operator must ensure that

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  (a) all physical and environmental conditions that could pose a hazard to the installation are documented and communicated to all affected personnel;

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  (b) the environmental limits for the safe operation of the installation are defined, included in operating procedures and communicated to all affected personnel; and

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  (c) measures to detect, avoid, prevent, manage and reduce the effects of the hazards posed by the physical and environmental conditions are developed and implemented in operations and incorporated into the design of the installation where required.

Marginal note:Risk assessment — fire, explosion and hazardous gas

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  107 (1) An operator must ensure that an assessment of fire and explosion risks and of risks associated with hazardous gas and its containment is conducted in respect of an installation and that the assessment identifies

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    (a) the types of fires, explosions and hazardous gas releases that could occur, their potential sources and unmitigated consequences, the likelihood of their occurrence and, if applicable, their potential fire or blast loads;

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    (b) measures to be incorporated into the design of the installation, if practicable, to eliminate the hazards identified under paragraph (a); and

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    (c) if it is not practicable to eliminate those hazards through design measures, all necessary control measures to reduce the risks associated with the hazards to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable.

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  Marginal note:Elements for consideration

  (2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b) and (c), the assessment must take into account the following elements:

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    (a) the general layout of the installation;

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    (b) the production and process activities to be carried out, including well operations;

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    (c) operating limits of the installation;

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    (d) the types of fires, explosions and hazardous gas releases identified under paragraph (1)(a) and their duration;

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    (e) the need for a means of detecting, from the potential sources identified under paragraph (1)(a),

    • (i) hazardous gas releases, and

    • (ii) outbreaks of fire;

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    (f) the need for a means of isolating and safely storing hazardous substances, including fuel, explosives and chemicals;

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    (g) the need for a safe means of escape, evacuation and rescue in the event of a fire, explosion or hazardous gas release; and

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    (h) the need for a means to ensure levels of emergency shutdown of the installation, systems and equipment in the event of the detection of a hazardous gas release or an outbreak of fire.