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

Marginal note:Variation of approval

• 88 (1) The Chief Conservation Officer must vary the approval to use a spill-treating agent if new information indicates that a modification to the requirements set out in the approval is necessary to ensure that the approved use is likely to achieve a net environmental benefit.

• Marginal note:Revocation of approval

  (2) The Chief Conservation Officer must revoke the approval if new information indicates that, despite any modification, use of the agent will not likely achieve a net environmental benefit.

Marginal note:Use of spill-treating agent

• 89 (1) An operator must ensure that any spill-treating agent is used in accordance with industry standards and best practices for spill-treating agent use, taking into account the local environment.

• Marginal note:Equipment and materials

  (2) The operator must ensure that all equipment and materials that are listed in the contingency plan as required by paragraph 11(4)(e) are available and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers’ specifications and ready for use at all times.

• Marginal note:Monitoring plan implementation

  (3) The operator must implement the monitoring plan that is included in the contingency plan as required by paragraph 11(4)(f) at the commencement of the use of a spill-treating agent in the case of a spill.

• Marginal note:Information to Chief Conservation Officer

  (4) The operator must inform the Chief Conservation Officer of the spill-treating agent’s efficacy, the effects of its use on the environment and any changes that may require a modification to its use.

Well Abandonment, Suspension or Completion

Marginal note:Conditions for suspension or abandonment

• 90 (1) An operator that suspends or abandons a well must ensure that the well

  • (a) can be readily located; and

  • (b) is left in a condition such that

    • (i) all petroleum-bearing pools and zones and discrete pressure zones are isolated, and

    • (ii) any formation fluid is prevented from flowing through or escaping from the well-bore.

• Marginal note:Verification of isolation

  (2) Before suspending or abandoning the well, the operator must verify the effectiveness of the isolations referred to in subparagraph (1)(b)(i) in accordance with the methods set out in its well approval application under paragraph 17(4)(e).

Marginal note:Additional condition for suspension

91 An operator that suspends a well must ensure that it is inspected and monitored to maintain its integrity and prevent pollution.

Marginal note:Additional condition for abandonment

92 The operator of a well must ensure that, on the abandonment of the well, the seabed is cleared of any material or equipment that might have an adverse effect on the marine environment or interfere with fishing activities or other uses of the sea.

Marginal note:Conditions for drilling installation removal

93 It is prohibited for the operator of a drilling installation to remove the drilling installation from a well or cause it to be removed unless

• (a) the well has been abandoned, suspended or completed in accordance with these Regulations; or

• (b) the removal of the drilling installation is for emergency purposes.

PART 9Diving Projects

Marginal note:Vessel used in diving project

94 An operator that conducts a diving project must, in respect of a vessel used in the diving project, ensure that

• (a) the vessel is capable of providing the necessary dive support functions and operating safely;

• (b) the vessel is designed to withstand or avoid, without loss of its overall structural integrity or failure of its main safety functions, all foreseeable site-specific physical and environmental conditions or any foreseeable combination of those conditions;

• (c) the vessel is a Safety Convention vessel, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and holds a valid certificate of class issued by a classification society;

• (d) if a permanent diving system is installed on the vessel, the certificate of class referred to in paragraph (c) includes a valid class notation for diving issued by the classification society referred to in that paragraph; and

• (e) a competent third party has assessed and certified the sea fastening of any equipment that is temporarily installed on the vessel for the diving project.

Marginal note:Dynamic positioning system

• 95 (1) An operator must ensure that the dynamic positioning system on a vessel that is used in a diving project

  • (a) includes safety-critical systems and components with sufficient segregation and redundancy to maintain the vessel’s position in the event that credible scenarios of equipment failure, fire or flooding are realized;

  • (b) includes systems to monitor the parameters of critical system operability and the integrity of the dynamic positioning system and to provide alerts for critical system faults;

  • (c) has sufficient redundancy to protect divers while diving;

  • (d) is designed based on numerical analysis and model testing to ensure that the vessel’s position reference and directional control can be maintained within specified tolerances that satisfy design operational requirements in relation to all functional loads and environmental loads to which the system may be subjected; and

  • (e) is designed to ensure that, if the diving project involves saturation diving, the dynamic positioning system can withstand the loss from fire or flooding of all of its components situated in any one watertight compartment or fire subdivision of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Verification

  (2) After the design of the dynamic positioning system is completed, the operator must ensure that a failure modes and effects analysis is conducted to verify that the dynamic positioning system meets the requirements set out in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Maintenance

  (3) The operator must ensure that the dynamic positioning system is maintained so that it continues to perform in accordance with its design specifications.

Marginal note:Light dive craft

• 96 (1) The operator must ensure that any light dive craft that is used for a diving project is

  • (a) fit for the purposes for which it is to be used; and

  • (b) designed to withstand or avoid, without loss of its overall structural integrity or failure of its main safety functions, all foreseeable site-specific physical and environmental conditions or any foreseeable combination of those conditions.

• Marginal note:Dive support vessel

  (2) The operator must ensure, during all dives from a light dive craft, the availability of a dive support vessel that

  • (a) is fitted with emergency equipment, including a fast rescue boat, that can provide assistance to the light dive craft in any foreseeable emergency situation; and

  • (b) has a launch and recovery system for the light dive craft that has been verified and certified by the certifying authority as being fit for the purposes for which it is to be used.

• Marginal note:Definition of light dive craft

  (3) In this section, light dive craft means a small vessel or secondary craft that is equipped to deploy divers from a primary vessel.

PART 10Installations, Wells and Pipelines

Definitions

Marginal note:Definitions

97 The following definitions apply in this Part.

air gap

air gap means the clearance between the highest water or ice surface that occurs during extreme environmental conditions and the lowest exposed part of an installation not designed to withstand wave or ice impingement. (tirant d’air)

control station

control station means a work area that is not continuously staffed that provides an alternative location to a control centre and the minimum necessary control equipment to enable essential management of the installation or of specific key systems. (poste de contrôle)

damaged condition

damaged condition means, with respect to a floating platform, the condition of the platform after it has suffered damage up to the extent determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of the MODU Code or, in the case of a platform that is not a mobile offshore drilling unit, the applicable rules of a classification society. (état d’avarie)

design service life

design service life means the anticipated period during which any installation, including its systems or equipment, is to be used for its intended purpose, with anticipated maintenance but without substantial repair. (vie utile)

hazardous area

hazardous area means an area on an installation where flammable, explosive or combustible mixtures are or are likely to be present in sufficient quantities and for sufficient periods of time to require special precautions to be taken in the selection, installation or use of machinery and electrical equipment to prevent a fire or explosion. (aire dangereuse)

IS Code

IS Code means the annex to International Maritime Organization Resolution MSC.267(85), International Code on Intact Stability, 2008. (recueil IS)

MODU Code

MODU Code means the annex to International Maritime Organization Resolution A.1023(26), Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 2009. (Code MODU)

process vessel

process vessel means a heater, dehydrator, separator, treater or any other pressurized vessel used in the processing or treatment of produced petroleum. (cuve de traitement)

unattended installation

unattended installation means an installation on which persons are not normally present and in respect of which, when persons are present, it is for the purpose of performing operational duties, maintenance or inspections that will not require an overnight stay. (installation non fréquentée)

Installations

General

Marginal note:Safety and environmental protection

98 An operator must ensure that an installation, including its systems and equipment, is designed, constructed, installed, arranged and commissioned so that it is fit for the purposes for which it is to be used and can be operated safely without posing a threat to persons or the environment.

Marginal note:Design of installation

99 For the purpose of meeting the requirement under section 98 in respect of design, an operator must ensure that an installation, including its systems and equipment, is designed in accordance with the measures referred to in clauses 9(2)(b)(v)(A) and 10(2)(b)(v)(A) that are described in the operator’s safety plan and environmental protection plan, respectively.

Quality Assurance

Marginal note:Quality assurance program

• 100 (1) An operator must, for the purpose of ensuring that an installation, including its systems and equipment, is fit for the purposes for which it is to be used, develop a quality assurance program that meets the following requirements:

  • (a) it must be set out in writing;

  • (b) it must be comprehensive;

  • (c) it must include a process to achieve quality objectives and to comply with the requirements of these Regulations;

  • (d) it must include the policies on which it is based and a process to communicate the policies to personnel and all other affected persons;

  • (e) it must set out the roles, responsibilities and authorities of all persons exercising functions under it, as well as the processes for making those persons aware of their roles, responsibilities and authorities and ensuring that they comply with them;

  • (f) it must include processes for establishing and maintaining measurable goals and performance indicators that are applicable to it;

  • (g) it must include processes for its periodic internal audit and review to identify areas for improvement and the corrective measures to be implemented if deficiencies are identified;

  • (h) it must include processes for ensuring that its integrity is preserved when changes to it are planned or implemented;

  • (i) it must include processes for internal and external reporting on its performance; and

  • (j) it must identify the resources that are necessary to ensure that the requirements under this section are being met.

• Marginal note:Implementation

  (2) The operator must ensure that each phase of the life cycle of the installation, from its design up to and including its decommissioning and abandonment, is carried out in accordance with the program and that any activity relating to the installation that is carried out under the control of a third party is also carried out in accordance with a quality assurance program.

• Marginal note:Accessibility

  (3) The operator must ensure that the processes and policies that are included in the program referred to in subsection (1) are readily accessible for consultation and examination.

• Marginal note:Organization

  (4) The operator must ensure that the documentation relating to the program referred to in subsection (1) is organized and set out in a logical fashion to allow for ease of understanding and efficient implementation.

• Marginal note:Processes and procedures

  (5) In this section, a reference to a process includes any procedures that are necessary to implement the process.

Work Permits

Marginal note:Requirements

• 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:

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

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

  • (c) the periods during which it is valid;

  • (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

  • (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.

• 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

• 102 (1) An operator must ensure that

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

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

• 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.