Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act (S.C. 1987, c. 3)
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Act current to 2025-06-25 and last amended on 2025-06-02. Previous Versions
PART IIIPetroleum and Offshore Renewable Energy Operations (continued)
Licences and Authorizations (continued)
Declarations
Marginal note:Declaration by applicant — petroleum
139.1 (1) No authorization under paragraph 138(1)(b) shall be issued unless the Regulator has received, from the applicant for the authorization, a declaration in the form fixed by the Regulator that states that
(a) the equipment and installations that are to be used in the work or activity to be authorized are fit for the purposes for which they are to be used, the operating procedures relating to them are appropriate for those uses, and the personnel who are to be employed in connection with them are qualified and competent for their employment; and
(b) the applicant shall ensure, so long as the work or activity that is authorized continues, that the equipment and installations continue to be fit for the purposes for which they are used, the operating procedures continue to be appropriate for those uses, and the personnel continue to be so qualified and competent.
Marginal note:Declaration by applicant or holder — offshore renewable energy
(2) An applicant or holder of an authorization under subsection 138.01(1) shall, prior to a date determined by regulations or, in the absence of regulations, by the Regulator, provide the Regulator with a declaration in the form fixed by it that states that
(a) the equipment and facilities that are to be used in the work or activity to be authorized are fit for the purposes for which they are to be used, the operating procedures relating to them are appropriate for those uses, and the personnel who are to be employed in connection with them are qualified and competent for their employment; and
(b) the applicant or holder shall ensure, so long as the work or activity that is authorized continues, that the equipment and facilities continue to be fit for the purposes for which they are used, the operating procedures continue to be appropriate for those uses, and the personnel continue to be so qualified and competent.
Marginal note:Changes
(3) If the equipment, an installation, a facility, the operating procedures or any of the personnel specified in a declaration changes and no longer conforms to the declaration, the holder of the authorization that provided the declaration shall provide the Regulator with a new declaration as soon as the circumstances permit after the change occurs.
Marginal note:Immunity
(4) The Regulator or any delegate of the Regulator is not liable to any person by reason only of having issued an authorization in reliance on a declaration made under this section.
- 1992, c. 35, s. 60
- 2014, c. 13, s. 23
- 2024, c. 20, s. 67
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Petroleum-related Certificates
Marginal note:Certificate
139.2 (1) No authorization under paragraph 138(1)(b) shall be issued with respect to any prescribed equipment or installation, or any equipment or installation of a prescribed class, unless the Regulator has received, from the applicant for the authorization, a certificate issued by a certifying authority in the form fixed by the Regulator.
Marginal note:Continuing obligation
(2) The holder of an authorization shall ensure that the certificate referred to in subsection (1) remains in force for so long as the equipment or installation to which the certificate relates is used in the work or activity in respect of which the authorization is issued.
Marginal note:Contents of certificate
(3) A certificate referred to in subsection (1) shall state that the equipment or installation in question
(a) is fit for the purposes for which it is to be used and may be operated safely without posing a threat to persons or to the environment in the location and for the time set out in the certificate; and
(b) is in conformity with all of the requirements and conditions that are imposed for the purposes of this section by subsection 138(4), whether they are imposed by regulation or by the Regulator.
Marginal note:Validity of certificate
(4) A certificate referred to in subsection (1) is not valid if the certifying authority
(a) has not complied with any prescribed procedure or any procedure that the Regulator may establish; or
(b) is a person or an organization that has participated in the design, construction or installation of the equipment or installation in respect of which the certificate is issued, to any extent greater than that prescribed.
Marginal note:Access
(5) An applicant shall permit the certifying authority to have access to the equipment and installations in respect of which the certificate is required and to any information that relates to them.
Definition of certifying authority
(6) For the purposes of this section, certifying authority has the meaning assigned by the regulations.
Marginal note:Immunity
(7) The Regulator or any delegate of the Regulator is not liable to any person by reason only of having issued an authorization in reliance on a certificate issued under this section.
- 1992, c. 35, s. 60
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Chief Safety Officer and Chief Conservation Officer
Marginal note:Designation
140 The Regulator may, for the purposes of this Act, designate any person as the Chief Safety Officer and any other person as the Chief Conservation Officer. However, the Chief Executive Officer may not be designated as the Chief Safety Officer.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 140
- 1992, c. 35, s. 61
- 2014, c. 13, s. 24
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Statutory Instruments Act
Marginal note:Order
140.1 For the purposes of this Act, an order made by an operational safety officer, the Chief Safety Officer, a conservation officer, the Chief Conservation Officer, the Committee or a health and safety officer as defined in subsection 205.001(1) is not a statutory instrument as defined in the Statutory Instruments Act.
- 1992, c. 35, s. 61
- 2014, c. 13, s. 25
Extended Formation Flow Tests
Marginal note:Title
140.2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), title to petroleum produced during an extended formation flow test vests in the person who conducts the test in accordance with an authorization under section 138, with every approval and requirement subject to which such an authorization is issued and with any applicable regulation, whether or not the person has a production licence issued under Part II.
Marginal note:Conditions
(2) Title to petroleum referred to in subsection (1) is conditional on compliance with the terms of the authorization, approval or regulation, including the payment of royalties or other payment in lieu of royalties.
Marginal note:Limitation
(3) This section applies only in respect of an extended formation flow test that provides significant information for determining the best recovery system for a reservoir or for determining the limits of a reservoir or the productivity of a well producing petroleum from a reservoir and that does not adversely affect the ultimate recovery from a reservoir.
- 1992, c. 35, s. 61
- 2024, c. 20, s. 69(F)
Oil and Gas Committee
Constitution
Marginal note:Oil and Gas Committee
141 (1) The Regulator may, for the purposes of this Part and Part III of the Provincial Act, establish a committee to be known as the Oil and Gas Committee, consisting of not more than five members, not more than three of whom may be employees in the federal public administration or the public service of the Province.
Marginal note:Appointment of members and chairperson
(2) The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Regulator to hold office for a term of three years, and one member shall be designated as chairperson for such term as may be fixed by the Regulator.
Marginal note:Re-appointment permitted
(3) A retiring chairperson or retiring member may be re-appointed to the Committee in the same or another capacity.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 141
- 2003, c. 22, s. 119(E)
- 2014, c. 13, s. 52(E)
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Marginal note:Qualification of members
142 (1) The Regulator shall appoint as members of the Committee at least two persons who appear to the Regulator to have specialized, expert or technical knowledge of petroleum.
Marginal note:Idem
(2) The members and employees of the Regulator and the Chief Conservation Officer are not eligible to be members of the Committee.
Marginal note:Staff
(3) The Regulator shall provide the Committee with such officers, clerks and employees as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the affairs of the Committee, and may provide the Committee with such professional or technical assistance for temporary periods or for specific work as the Committee may request, but no such assistance shall be provided otherwise than from the staff of the Regulator except with the approval of the two Ministers.
Marginal note:Remuneration
(4) The members of the Committee who are not employees in the federal public administration or the public service of the Province shall be paid such remuneration as may be authorized by the Regulator.
Marginal note:Expenses
(5) The members of the Committee are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses while absent from their ordinary place of residence in the course of their duties.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 142
- 2003, c. 22, s. 120
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Marginal note:Interest in petroleum properties
143 No member of the Committee shall have a pecuniary interest of any description, directly or indirectly, in any property in petroleum to which this Part applies or own shares in any company engaged in any phase of the petroleum industry in Canada in an amount in excess of five per cent of the issued shares thereof and no member who owns any shares of any company engaged in any phase of the petroleum industry in Canada shall vote when a question affecting such a company is before the Committee.
Marginal note:Quorum
144 (1) A majority of the members, including one member who is not an employee in the federal public administration or the public service of the Province, constitutes a quorum of the Committee.
Marginal note:Powers of Committee
(2) The Committee may make general rules not inconsistent with this Part regulating its practice and procedure and the places and times of its sittings.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 144
- 2003, c. 22, s. 121
Jurisdiction and Powers
Marginal note:Jurisdiction
145 (1) Where, under this Part, the Committee is charged with a duty to hold an inquiry or to hear an appeal, the Committee has full jurisdiction to inquire into, hear and determine the matter of any such inquiry or appeal and to make any order, or give any direction that pursuant to this Part the Committee is authorized to make or give or with respect to any matter, act or thing that by this Part may be prohibited or approved by the Committee or required by the Committee to be done.
Marginal note:Powers of Committee
(2) For the purpose of any inquiry, hearing or appeal, or the making of any order pursuant to this Part, the Committee has, regarding the attendance, swearing and examination of witnesses, the production and inspection of documents, the entry on and inspection of property, the enforcement of its orders and regarding other matters necessary or proper for the due exercise of its jurisdiction pursuant to this Part, all such powers, rights and privileges as are vested in a superior court of record.
Marginal note:Finding of fact conclusive
(3) The finding or determination of the Committee on any question of fact within its jurisdiction is binding and conclusive.
Marginal note:Deputing member to hold inquiry
146 (1) The Committee may authorize and depute any member thereof to inquire into such matter before the Committee as may be directed by the Committee and to report the evidence and findings, if any, thereon to the Committee, and when such report is made to the Committee, it may be adopted as a finding of the Committee or otherwise dealt with as the Committee considers advisable.
Marginal note:Powers of deputed member
(2) Where an inquiry is held by a member under subsection (1), the member has all the powers of the Committee for the purpose of taking evidence or acquiring information for the purposes of the report to the Committee.
Marginal note:Advisory functions
147 The Regulator may at any time refer to the Committee for a report or recommendation any question, matter or thing arising under this Part or relating to the conservation, production, storage, processing or transportation of petroleum.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 147
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
Enforcement
Marginal note:Enforcement of Committee orders
148 (1) Any order made by the Committee may, for the purpose of its enforcement, be made an order of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and shall be enforced in the same manner as any order of that Court.
Marginal note:Procedure for enforcement
(2) To make an order of the Committee an order of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the practice and procedure established by the Provincial Act for making any order an order of that Court may be followed.
Marginal note:When order rescinded or replaced
(3) When an order of the Committee has been made an order of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, any order of the Committee, or of the Regulator under section 186, rescinding or replacing the first mentioned order of the Committee, has the effect of cancelling the order of the Court and may in the same manner be made an order of the Court.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 148
- 2014, c. 13, s. 26
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
DIVISION IRegulation of Operations — Petroleum
Regulations
Marginal note:Governor in Council’s regulatory power
149 (1) Subject to section 7, the Governor in Council may, for the purposes of safety, the protection of the environment, and accountability as well as for the production and conservation of petroleum resources, make regulations
(a) defining, in relation to petroleum-related works or activities, “oil” and “gas” for the purposes of Divisions I and II, “installation” and “equipment” for the purposes of sections 139.1 and 139.2 and “serious” for the purposes of section 165;
(b) concerning the exploration and drilling for, and the production, processing and transportation of, petroleum and works and activities related to such exploration, drilling, production, processing and transportation;
(b.1) concerning the measures to be taken in preparation for or in the case of a spill, as defined in subsection 160(1), including measures concerning the use of a spill-treating agent;
(b.2) concerning the process for the determination of net environmental benefit;
(b.3) concerning the variation or revocation of an approval referred to in paragraph 161.1(1)(b);
(c) authorizing the Regulator, or any person, to make such orders as may be specified in the regulations, and to exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be necessary for
(i) the management and control of petroleum production,
(ii) the removal of petroleum from the offshore area, including in relation to the management of access by third parties to existing offshore infrastructure for the purpose of storing, processing and transporting petroleum and in relation to the amounts that may be charged for that access, and
(iii) the design, construction, operation or abandonment of pipeline within the offshore area;
(d) concerning arbitration relating to petroleum-related works or activities for the purposes of subsection 138.1(2), including the costs of or incurred in relation to such arbitrations;
(e) concerning the approvals to be granted as conditions of authorizations issued under paragraph 138(1)(b);
(f) concerning certificates for the purposes of section 139.2;
(g) prohibiting, in relation to petroleum-related works or activities, the introduction into the environment of substances, classes of substances and forms of energy, in prescribed circumstances;
(h) authorizing the discharge, emission or escape of petroleum for the purposes of subsection 160(1) in such quantities, at such locations, under such conditions and by such persons as may be specified in the regulations;
(h.1) establishing the requirements for a pooled fund for the purposes of subsection 163(1.01);
(h.2) concerning the circumstances under which the Regulator may make a recommendation for the purposes of subsection 163.1(1) and the information to be submitted with respect to that recommendation;
(h.3) concerning the creation, conservation and production of records relating to petroleum-related works or activities; and
(i) prescribing, in relation to petroleum-related works or activities, anything that is required to be prescribed for the purposes of this Part.
Marginal note:Incorporation of standards or specifications
(2) Unless otherwise provided in this Part, regulations made under subsection (1) may incorporate by reference the standards or specifications of any government, person or organization, either as of a fixed time or as amended from time to time.
Marginal note:Spill-treating agents
(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) respecting a spill-treating agent shall, in addition to the requirements set out in subsection 7(1), be made on the recommendation of the Federal Minister and the Minister of the Environment.
- 1987, c. 3, s. 149
- 1992, c. 35, s. 63
- 2015, c. 4, ss. 54, 117
- 2024, c. 20, s. 71
- 2024, c. 20, s. 101
- Date modified: