Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations (SOR/96-118)

Communication Systems

• 36 (1) No person shall operate a manned installation unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) a radio or telephone communication system; and

  • (b) an emergency communications system.

• (2) The communication systems referred to in subsection (1) shall be operational at all times.

• (3) No person shall operate a manned offshore installation unless the offshore installation is equipped with a two-way radio communication system that

  • (a) enables effective communication by radio to be maintained between the installation and helicopters, the shore base, support vessels, standby vessels, search and rescue aircraft, and other nearby offshore installations; and

  • (b) enables effective communication with marine traffic in the vicinity.

• (4) The operator of a manned offshore installation shall ensure that the radio communication systems comply with the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020 as if the installation were a ship to which those Regulations apply.

• (5) Each installation shall comply with the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020 as if the installation were a ship to which those Regulations apply.

• (6) No person shall operate a manned installation unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) an internal telephone system;

  • (b) a public address system with loudspeakers located so that a voice transmission can be heard throughout the installation; and

  • (c) a means of transmitting written data to the shore base of the installation.

• (7) No person shall operate an installation that is usually unmanned unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) an operational two-way radio communication system during any period when the installation is manned; and

  • (b) a system capable of detecting under ambient conditions any hazardous conditions that could endanger the safety of the installation or damage the environment and of alerting the control station about the hazardous conditions.

PART IIAnalysis and Design

General Design Considerations

• 37 (1) Every installation and every component of an installation shall be designed in accordance with good engineering practice, taking into account

  • (a) the nature of the activities on and around the installation;

  • (b) the type and magnitude of functional loads, environmental loads, and foreseeable accidental loads;

  • (c) operating and ambient temperatures;

  • (d) corrosion conditions that may be encountered during the construction, operation and maintenance of the installation;

  • (e) the avoidance of damage to any part of the installation that may lead to the progressive collapse of the whole installation; and

  • (f) soil conditions.

• (2) The design of an installation shall be based on such analyses or model tests of the installation, including simulations to the extent practicable, as are necessary to permit the determination of the behaviour of the installation and of the soils that support the installation or anchoring systems, under all foreseeable transportation, installation and operating conditions.

Design of Offshore Installations

38 Every offshore installation shall be designed in accordance with the

• (a) section 4 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S471-92, General Requirements, Design Criteria, the Environment, and Loads;

• (b) for the foundation, section 5 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures;

• (c) for a steel platform, section 7 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (d) for a concrete platform, sections 3 and 7 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures; and

• (e) in respect of its transportation and installation, sections 5, 6 and 7 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S475-M1989, Sea Operations.

Design of Offshore Platforms

39 Every offshore platform shall be designed in accordance with

• (a) for composite ice-resisting walls, section 13 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (b) for the foundation, section 5 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures;

• (c) for a steel platform, sections 9, 10, 11, 12 and 16 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (d) for a concrete platform, sections 8, 9, 10 and 12 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures; and

• (e) for a gravity base, fill, fill-retention or piled platform, section 6, 7, 8 or 9 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures, as applicable.

Design of Onshore Installations

40 Onshore installations shall be designed in accordance with the National Building Code of Canada and the National Fire Code, issued by the National Research Council of Canada.

Offshore Analyses

• 41 (1) Analyses undertaken in respect of an offshore installation for the purposes of subsection 37(2) shall cover all relevant structural elements of the offshore installation, shall be based on good engineering practice and shall include a

  • (a) structural analysis;

  • (b) fatigue analysis;

  • (c) structural element stability analysis;

  • (d) overall installation stability analysis;

  • (e) for a mobile offshore platform, intact and damage stability analysis; and

  • (f) hydrodynamic analysis.

• (2) Analyses undertaken in respect of an offshore platform for the purposes of subsection 37(2) shall be carried out in accordance with

  • (a) section 4.6.7 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S471-92, General Requirements, Design Criteria, the Environment, and Loads;

  • (b) for a steel platform, section 8 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures; and

  • (c) for a concrete platform, sections 8 and 9 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures.

• (3) A fatigue analysis undertaken in respect of an offshore platform for the purpose of subsection 37(2) shall be carried out in accordance with

  • (a) for a steel platform, section 14 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures; and

  • (b) for a concrete platform, section 8.5 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures.

• (4) The foundation of major machinery and equipment on an offshore installation shall be analysed to determine if the resulting deflection, stresses and vibration are within the limits of the structural design criteria for the equipment.

Innovations for Offshore Installations

42 The design of an offshore installation shall not involve the use of any design method, material, joining technique, or construction technique that has not previously been used in comparable situations, unless

• (a) there have been engineering studies or prototype or model tests that demonstrate the adequacy of the method, material or technique; and

• (b) the operator implements a performance monitoring and inspection program that is designed to permit the determination of the correctness of the method, material or technique.

Removal and Abandonment of Fixed Offshore Production Installations

43 Where the removal of a fixed offshore production installation is a condition of a development plan approval, the operator shall incorporate in the design of the installation such measures as are necessary to facilitate its removal from the site without causing a significant effect on navigation or the marine environment.