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

PART 1General

Marginal note:Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

accidental event

accidental event means an unexpected or unplanned event or circumstance or series of unexpected or unplanned events or circumstances that may lead to the loss of life or damage to the environment, including pollution. (événement accidentel)

accommodations area

accommodations area means the area of an installation or vessel that contains the sleeping quarters, dining areas, food preparation areas, general recreation areas, offices and medical rooms and includes all washrooms in that area. (aire d’habitation)

accommodations installation

accommodations installation means an installation that is used to accommodate persons at a production site, drill site or dive site and that functions independently of a production installation, drilling installation or diving installation. (installation d’habitation)

Act

Act means the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act. (Loi)

authorization

authorization means an authorization issued by the Board under paragraph 142(1)(b) of the Act. (autorisation)

authorized inspector

authorized inspector means a person who is recognized under the laws of Canada or of a province as qualified to inspect boilers and pressure systems or a representative of a certifying authority who is qualified to carry out that function. (inspecteur autorisé)

barrier element

barrier element means a physical element that on its own does not prevent the flow of fluids but that in combination with other physical elements forms a well barrier. (élément de barrière)

barrier envelope

barrier envelope means an envelope consisting of a set of barrier elements that prevents any unintended flow of fluids from the formation into the well-bore, another formation or the environment. (enveloppe de barrière)

certificate of fitness

certificate of fitness means a certificate referred to in section 143.2 of the Act. (certificat d’aptitude)

certifying authority

certifying authority means the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Det norske Veritas or Lloyd’s Register. (autorité)

classification society

classification society means a member of the International Association of Classification Societies that has recognized and relevant competence and experience in, and established rules and procedures for, the classification of fixed and floating structures, including vessels, that are used in oil or gas activities in locations with physical and environmental conditions similar to those of the offshore area. (société de classification)

commingled production

commingled production means the production of petroleum from more than one pool or zone through a common well where the production from each pool or zone is not measured separately. (production mélangée)

completion interval

completion interval means a section within a well that is prepared to permit

• (a) the production of fluids from the well;

• (b) the observation of the performance of the reservoir; or

• (c) the injection of fluids into the well. (intervalle de complétion)

control centre

control centre means a continuously staffed work area in which a control system that is critical to the operation of an installation or a pipeline, to safety or to the prevention of waste and pollution is located. (centre de commande)

control system

control system means any system, station or panel used to monitor the status and control the operation of equipment used for or in support of the drilling for, or the production, processing or transportation of, petroleum or any system, station or panel used to monitor and control the operation of an installation. (système de commande)

decommissioning and abandonment

decommissioning and abandonment means the carrying out of the following processes in accordance with any applicable Act of Parliament, any applicable regulation made under an Act of Parliament, the applicable authorization and any approved development plans:

• (a) the cessation of operations;

• (b) the controlled abandonment of all wells;

• (c) the retirement from service and abandonment or removal of all installations, including their systems and equipment; and

• (d) the retirement from service and abandonment or removal of all pipelines and materials. (désaffectation et abandon)

delineation well

delineation well has the same meaning as in subsection 122(1) of the Act. (puits de délimitation)

development well

development well has the same meaning as in subsection 122(1) of the Act. (puits d’exploitation)

diving installation

diving installation means an installation or vessel on which a diving system is installed. (installation de plongée)

diving project

diving project means any work or activity that is related to the exploration or drilling for, or the production, conservation, processing or transportation of, petroleum and that involves diving. (projet de plongée)

diving system

diving system means the equipment that is required to execute a dive, including that required for compression, decompression, rescue and recovery. (système de plongée)

drilling installation

drilling installation means a drilling unit or a drilling rig, and the stable foundation on which it is installed — including an artificial island, an ice platform, a floating platform, a platform fixed to the seabed and any other foundation specifically used for drilling — and any associated accommodations area. (installation de forage)

drilling program

drilling program means a program for the drilling of one or more wells within a specified time and within specified areas through the use of one or more drilling installations and includes any work or activity related to the program. (programme de forage)

drilling rig

drilling rig means the equipment used to conduct well operations and associated systems, including power systems, control systems and monitoring systems. (appareil de forage)

drilling riser

drilling riser means the connection between a subsea blowout preventer and a mobile offshore platform. (tube prolongateur de forage)

drilling unit

drilling unit means a fixed or mobile offshore platform, or a vessel used in any well operation, that is fitted with a drilling rig, including all systems and equipment installed on the platform or vessel that are related to well operations and marine activities. (unité de forage)

drill site

drill site means a location where a drilling rig is or is proposed to be installed. (emplacement de forage)

environmental load

environmental load means a load imposed by meteorological or oceanographic conditions, such as winds, waves, tides, currents or snow, ice conditions, regional ice features, such as sea ice or icebergs, a seismic event or any other naturally occurring phenomenon. (charge environnementale)

environmental program

environmental program means a program pertaining to an environmental study as defined in subsection 122(1) of the Act. (programme environnemental)

exploratory well

exploratory well has the same meaning as in subsection 122(1) of the Act. (puits d’exploration)

floating platform

floating platform means a column-stabilized mobile offshore platform, a surface mobile offshore platform or a fixed floating offshore platform, including a tension leg platform or a spar platform. (plate-forme flottante)

flow allocation procedure

flow allocation procedure means the procedure

• (a) to allocate total measured quantities of petroleum and water produced from or injected into a pool or zone back to individual wells in a pool or zone where individual well production or injection is not measured separately; and

• (b) to allocate production among fields whose petroleum is combined for the purpose of storage or processing. (méthode de répartition du débit)

flow calculation procedure

flow calculation procedure means the procedure to convert raw meter output to a measured quantity of petroleum or water. (méthode de calcul du débit)

flowline

flowline means any line, other than a pipeline, that is used to transport fluids between a well and equipment used for the production of petroleum that is located at a production site or to transport fluids between a well and any systems or equipment that are used in support of that production and between those systems or equipment and the production equipment. (conduite d’écoulement)

flow system

flow system means the flow meters, auxiliary equipment attached to the flow meters, fluid sampling devices, production test equipment, master meter and meter prover used to measure and record the rate and volumes at which fluids are

• (a) produced from or injected into a pool;

• (b) used as a fuel;

• (c) used for artificial lift; or

• (d) flared, vented or transferred from a production installation. (système d’écoulement)

formation flow test

formation flow test means an operation

• (a) to induce the flow of formation fluids to procure reservoir fluid samples and determine reservoir flow characteristics; or

• (b) to inject fluids into a formation to evaluate injectivity. (essai d’écoulement de formation)

functional load

functional load means any construction load or operating load other than an environmental load or accidental load. (charge fonctionnelle)

geoscientific program

geoscientific program means any program that involves geological work or geophysical work, as those terms are defined in subsection 122(1) of the Act. (programme géoscientifique)

geotechnical program

geotechnical program means any program that involves geotechnical work, as defined in subsection 122(1) of the Act, that is undertaken to assess whether the seabed or shallow subsurface, as the case may be, is suitable to support installations or any other structures. (programme géotechnique)

installation

installation means, except in Part 5, a drilling installation, production installation or accommodations installation. (installation)

life-saving appliances

life-saving appliances includes lifebuoys, survival craft, launching and embarkation appliances, marine evacuation systems and visual signals. (engins de sauvetage)

load

load includes a functional load, environmental load, accidental load and abnormal load. (charge)

LSA Code

LSA Code means the annex to International Maritime Organization Resolution MSC.48(66), International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code. (recueil LSA)

major accidental event

major accidental event means an unexpected or unplanned event or circumstance or series of unexpected or unplanned events or circumstances that may lead to the loss of more than one life or uncontrolled pollution. (événement accidentel majeur)

marine activities

marine activities means activities related to the stability, station-keeping and collision avoidance of floating platforms and includes mooring, dynamic positioning and ballasting. (activités maritimes)

mobile offshore platform

mobile offshore platform means a platform that is designed to operate in a floating or buoyant mode or that can be moved from place to place without major dismantling or modification, whether or not it has its own motive power. (plate-forme mobile extracôtière)

operations site

operations site means a site where an authorized work or activity is carried out. (emplacement des opérations)

operator

operator means a person that holds an operating licence issued by the Board under paragraph 142(1)(a) of the Act and applies for or has been granted an authorization. (exploitant)

physical and environmental conditions

physical and environmental conditions means the physical, geotechnical, seismic, oceanographic, meteorological or ice conditions that might affect an authorized work or activity. (conditions physiques et environnementales)

pipeline

pipeline has the same meaning as in CSA Group standard Z662, Oil and gas pipeline systems, as it relates to offshore pipelines. (pipeline)

pollution

pollution means the introduction into the environment of any substance or form of energy outside the limits applicable to an authorized work or activity. (pollution)

pressure system

pressure system means piping, pressure vessels, safety components and pressure components, including elements attached to pressurized parts, such as flanges, nozzles, couplings, supports, lifting lugs, safety valves and gauges. (système sous pression)

production installation

production installation means

• (a) the systems and equipment used for or in support of the production of petroleum, including those that are used for separation, treatment and processing;

• (b) the systems and equipment used to conduct well operations;

• (c) any systems and equipment related to marine activities;

• (d) any associated aircraft landing areas, storage areas or tanks and accommodations areas; and

• (e) any associated platforms, artificial islands, subsea production systems and offshore loading systems. (ouvrage de production)

production project

production project means a project for the purpose of developing a production site on, or producing petroleum from, a pool or field, including any work or activity related to the project. (projet de production)

production riser

production riser means the connection between subsea production equipment and a production platform. (tube prolongateur de production)

production site

production site means a site where a production installation is or is proposed to be installed. (emplacement de production)

recovery of petroleum

recovery of petroleum means the recovery of petroleum under foreseeable economic and operational conditions. (récupération des hydrocarbures)

relief well

relief well means a well that is drilled to assist in controlling a blowout in an existing well. (puits de secours)

reportable incident

reportable incident means an event that resulted in any of the following occurrences or in which an occurrence referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (f) was narrowly avoided:

• (a) loss of life;

• (b) fire or explosion;

• (c) collision;

• (d) pollution;

• (e) leak of a hazardous substance;

• (f) loss of well control;

• (g) impairment of a support craft or of any of the structural elements of an installation — or any system or equipment — that is critical to safety;

• (h) impairment of any of the structural elements of an installation — or any system or equipment — critical to environmental protection;

• (i) implementation of emergency response procedures. (incident à signaler)

safety-critical element

safety-critical element means any system or equipment, including software and temporary or portable equipment, that is critical to the safety or integrity of an installation or to preventing the installation from polluting, including

• (a) any system or equipment

  • (i) that is intended to prevent or limit the effects of a hazard that could cause a major accidental event, or

  • (ii) whose failure could

    • (A) cause a hazard that could cause a major accidental event, or

    • (B) worsen the effects on the installation of a major accidental event; and

• (b) any software or temporary or portable equipment that affects any system or equipment referred to in paragraph (a). (élément essentiel à la sécurité)

subsea production system

subsea production system means equipment and structures that are located on or below the seabed for the production of petroleum from, or for the injection of fluids into, a field under a production site and includes production risers, flowlines and associated control systems that are located upstream of the isolation valve. (système de production sous-marin)

support craft

support craft means a vessel, vehicle, aircraft or other craft used to provide transportation or assistance to persons at an operations site. (véhicule de service)

waste material

waste material means any garbage, refuse, sewage or waste fluids or any other useless material that is generated during the carrying out of any work or activity, including used or surplus drill cuttings and drilling fluid as well as produced water. (déchets)

watertight

watertight means designed and constructed to withstand a static head of water without any leakage. (étanche)

well control

well control means the control of the movement of fluids into or from a well. (maîtrise du puits)

well operation

well operation means an operation related to the drilling, completion, recompletion, re-entry, intervention, workover, suspension or abandonment of a well. (travaux relatifs au puits)

workover

workover means an operation on a completed well that requires removal of the tree or the tubing. (reconditionnement)

zone

zone means any stratum or any sequence of strata, including a zone that has been designated as such by the Board under paragraph 60(a). (couche)