Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds (Upstream Oil and Gas Sector) (SOR/2018-66)

Marginal note:Tagging

• 41 (1) A pneumatic controller that is referred to in subsection 37(2) or a pneumatic pump referred to in a permit issued under subsection 40(2) must be tagged to indicate that it is not subject to subsection 37(1) or 39(1) or an entry to that effect must be made in an electronic tracking system.

• Marginal note:Identifier

  (2) The tag or the entry must also include an identifier for the pneumatic controller or the pneumatic pump.

Other Equipment

Marginal note:Pipes and hatches

42 A hatch and the open end of a pipe at an upstream oil and gas facility must be closed — other than during an operation at the facility that requires the hatch or pipe to be open — in such a way as to minimize the emission of hydrocarbon gas.

Marginal note:Sampling systems and pressure relief devices

43 A sampling system or a pressure relief device used at an upstream oil and gas facility must be installed and operated in such a way as to minimize the emission of hydrocarbon gas from the system or the pressure relief device.

Marginal note:Records — hatches, pipes, systems and devices

44 A record must be made that indicates whether an upstream oil and gas facility has a hatch, a pipe with an open end or uses a sampling system or pressure relief device.

Revocation of Permit

Marginal note:Subsection 40(2)

• 45 (1) The Minister must revoke a permit issued under subsection 40(2) if the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has provided false or misleading information in their application for the permit.

• Marginal note:Conditions for revocation

  (2) The Minister must not revoke a permit unless the Minister has provided the applicant with

  • (a) written reasons for the proposed revocation; and

  • (b) an opportunity to be heard, by written representation, in respect of the proposed revocation.

PART 2Offshore Upstream Oil and Gas Facilities

Application

Marginal note:Offshore facilities

• 46 (1) This Part applies in respect of upstream oil and gas facilities located offshore.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) Despite subsection (1), this Part does not apply in respect of an offshore facility if

  • (a) a regulation is made under the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act or the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act that applies in respect of the offshore facility and imposes requirements that are at least as stringent as those set out in sections 47 to 53; and

  • (b) the title of the regulation is published in the environmental registry established under section 12 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 for the purpose of this subsection.

Venting Limit

Marginal note:15 000 standard m³ per year

• 47 (1) An offshore facility must not vent more than 15 000 standard m³ of hydrocarbon gas during a year.

• Marginal note:Excluded volume — health or safety

  (2) Any volume of hydrocarbon gas that is vented from the offshore facility in order to avoid serious risk to human health or safety arising from an emergency situation is excluded from the determination of the volume vented for the purpose of subsection (1).

Marginal note:Records — annual volume vented

• 48 (1) For each year that an offshore facility operates, a record, with supporting documents, must be made that indicates the volume of hydrocarbon gas that was vented, expressed in standard m³.

• Marginal note:Records — emergency situation

  (2) For each volume of vented hydrocarbon gas arising from an emergency situation referred to in subsection 47(2), a record must be made that indicates:

  • (a) the name of the offshore facility;

  • (b) the volume of hydrocarbon gas that was vented, expressed in standard m³; and

  • (c) a description of the emergency situation.

Compressors

Marginal note:Capture or venting of emissions

49 The emissions of hydrocarbon gas from the seals of a centrifugal compressor at an offshore facility must be

• (a) captured and routed to hydrocarbon gas conservation equipment or hydrocarbon gas destruction equipment; or

• (b) routed to vents that release those emissions to the atmosphere.

Marginal note:Continuous monitoring devices

• 50 (1) The flow rate of emissions of hydrocarbon gas from vents referred to in paragraph 49(b) must be measured by means of a continuous monitoring device.

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (2) A continuous monitoring device must

  • (a) be calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations such that its measurements have a maximum margin of error of ±10%;

  • (b) be operated continuously, other than during periods when it is undergoing normal servicing or timely repairs; and

  • (c) be equipped with an alarm that is triggered when the applicable flow rate limit referred to in subsection (3) for the vents of the compressor is reached.

• Marginal note:Flow rate limit

  (3) The flow rate limit of emissions of hydrocarbon gas from the vents of a compressor is

  • (a) for a compressor that was installed before January 1, 2023,

    • (i) 0.68 standard m³/min, if the compressor has a rated brake power of greater than or equal to 5 MW, and

    • (ii) 0.34 standard m³/min, if the compressor has a rated brake power of less than 5 MW; and

  • (b) for a compressor that was installed on or after January 1, 2023, 0.14 standard m³/min.

• Marginal note:Corrective action

  (4) If the alarm is triggered, corrective action must be taken to reduce the flow rate to below or equal to the applicable flow rate limit, as demonstrated by the absence of an alarm when the compressor begins to operate following the taking of that action.

Marginal note:Records

51 A record must be made that indicates the following information concerning centrifugal compressors:

• (a) for each compressor referred to in section 49,

  • (i) its serial number,

  • (ii) its make and model,

  • (iii) whether it was installed at the facility before January 1, 2023 or on or after January 1, 2023,

  • (iv) if it was installed at the facility before January 1, 2023, its rated brake power, and

  • (v) an indication of the manufacturer’s recommendations for the calibration of the continuous monitoring device, along with a demonstration, with supporting documents, that the measurements taken with that calibration have a maximum margin of error of ±10%;

• (b) for each compressor for which an alarm referred to subsection 50(4) was triggered,

  • (i) its serial number, make and model,

  • (ii) the date on which the alarm was triggered,

  • (iii) the flow rate indicated by the continuous monitoring device when the alarm was triggered, and

  • (iv) a description of the corrective action that was taken, along with the dates on which that action was taken.

Gas Detection System and Repair of Leaks

Marginal note:Requirements

• 52 (1) An offshore facility must be equipped with a gas detection system that satisfies the requirements of section 32 of the Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations and section 32 of the Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations.

• Marginal note:Repair

  (2) A leak must be repaired within 730 days after the day on which it is detected by the gas detection system or is detected by means of an auditory method, an olfactory method or a visual method, including the observation of the dripping of hydrocarbon liquids from the equipment component.

Marginal note:Records

53 A record must be made that indicates the following information concerning the detection and repair of leaks:

• (a) the date on which each leak was detected;

• (b) the type of equipment that was leaking, along with its location within the facility or its identifier;

• (c) the means by which the leak was identified; and

• (d) the steps that were taken to repair each leak detected, along with the dates on which those steps were taken.

PART 3Administration

Registration

Marginal note:Registration report

• 54 (1) An upstream oil and gas facility in respect of which any of sections 5, 9, 11, 14 and 15 apply or in respect of which sections 26 to 45 apply and an offshore facility in respect of which section 46 applies must be registered by providing the Minister with a registration report for the facility that contains the information set out in Schedule 3.

• Marginal note:Date of registration

  (2) The facility must be registered not later than 120 days after the later of

  • (a) January 1, 2020, and

  • (b) the earlier of

    • (i) the first day on which any of sections 5, 9, 11, 14, 15 and 46 apply in respect of the facility, and

    • (ii) the first day of the month referred to in subsection 20(1) as of which sections 26 to 45 apply in respect of the facility.

• Marginal note:Updated information

  (3) If there is a change such that the information provided in the facility’s registration report is no longer accurate, a notice to that effect that contains the updated information, along with the information referred to in item 4 of Schedule 3, must be sent to the Minister not later than 90 days after the change.

Marginal note:Provision of information

• 55 (1) Information that is required under section 54 to be in a registration report provided to the Minister may be provided to the Minister via an approved entity.

• Marginal note:Deemed provision of registration report

  (2) If all of the information required to be in a registration report is provided to the Minister via an approved entity, the operator for that facility must notify the Minister to that effect. The registration report is deemed to have been provided to the Minister on the day on which the Minister receives that notice.

• Marginal note:Approval of entity

  (3) The Minister may approve an entity for the purpose of subsection (1) if the Minister concludes an arrangement with the entity under which information referred to in section 54 that is provided to the entity is accessible to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Publication of approved entities

  (4) The Minister must publish a list of approved entities in the Environmental Registry established under section 12 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of approval

  (5) The Minister may withdraw the approval of an entity and publish a notice to that effect in the Environmental Registry.

Record-making and Updating and Keeping of Documents

Marginal note:Record-making and updates

• 56 (1) A record that is required to be made under these Regulations must be made within 30 days after the day on which the information to be recorded becomes available. The record must be updated within 30 days after the information to be updated becomes available.

• Marginal note:Record-keeping — indefinite

  (2) A record, along with supporting documents, of information that applies on an ongoing basis must be kept indefinitely until an update is required.

• Marginal note:Record-keeping — five years

  (3) If an update referred to in subsection (2) is required, the record of the information, along with its supporting documents, as recorded before the updating must be kept for five years after the updating.

• Marginal note:Record-keeping — five years

  (4) A record, along with supporting documents, of information that applies only in respect of a given day, must be kept for five years after that given day.

• Marginal note:Document-keeping

  (5) A document that is required to be kept under these Regulations must be kept for five years.

• Marginal note:Place kept

  (6) The records and documents must be kept at the upstream oil and gas facility to which they relate or at another place in Canada where they can be inspected.

• Marginal note:Provision of records

  (7) On the Minister’s request, the operator must, within 60 days after the day on which the request was made, provide any of the records or documents kept to the Minister.

Consequential Amendment to the Regulations Designating Regulatory Provisions for Purposes of Enforcement (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999)

57 [Amendment]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:January 1, 2020

• 58 (1) Subject to subsection (2), these Regulations come into force on January 1, 2020.

• Marginal note:January 1, 2023

  (2) Sections 26, 27 and 37 to 41 of these Regulations and paragraphs 30(p), (q), (v), (w) and (x) of the schedule to the Regulations Designating Regulatory Provisions for Purposes of Enforcement (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999), as enacted by section 57 of these Regulations, come into force on January 1, 2023.