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

Requirements

Marginal note:Innovations

• 103 (1) An operator must ensure that any technology, including any technology that is used in relation to materials, design methods, joining techniques or construction techniques, that has not been previously used in comparable situations is not used in relation to an installation unless

  • (a) engineering studies, prototypes or model tests demonstrate that the technology is safe and fit for the purposes for which it is to be used; and

  • (b) the technology is verified by a competent third party, in accordance with industry standards and best practices for technology qualification.

• Marginal note:Technology qualification program

  (2) The operator must develop a technology qualification program that sets out the performance monitoring and inspection measures that are necessary to determine the effectiveness of any technology referred to in subsection (1) that it intends to use.

• Marginal note:Program implementation and update

  (3) The operator must ensure that the program is implemented and periodically updated.

Marginal note:Physical and environmental conditions

• 104 (1) An operator must ensure that an installation is designed to withstand or avoid all foreseeable site-specific physical and environmental conditions, or any foreseeable combination of those conditions, without compromising its structural integrity or that of any of its systems or equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment.

• Marginal note:Criteria

  (2) The operator must ensure that the design of an installation is based on criteria that are determined using evidence-based regional and site-specific data, statistical analysis and modelling of physical and environmental conditions, including

  • (a) oceanographic conditions, including any completely or partially submerged potential navigational hazards;

  • (b) meteorological conditions, including the number of daylight hours;

  • (c) geotechnical conditions and geohazards;

  • (d) ice conditions and any other conditions associated with cold regions; and

  • (e) any other physical and environmental conditions or naturally occurring phenomena that may adversely affect the installation.

• Marginal note:Ice conditions

  (3) The operator must ensure that an installation that is to be operated where ice conditions may exist is designed and operated to

  • (a) minimize or avoid environmental loads associated with ice or ice and snow accumulation on the installation, including on its structural components;

  • (b) ensure that the ice conditions will not adversely affect the functionality of any systems or equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment;

  • (c) protect risers, offloading systems and other subsea systems from the ice conditions; and

  • (d) in the case of a mobile offshore platform or vessel,

    • (i) prevent damage to propulsion or positioning systems from the ice conditions, and

    • (ii) ensure safe transit through ice-infested waters.

• Marginal note:Redundancy

  (4) The operator must ensure that there is redundancy included in any measures implemented for the purpose of paragraph (3)(a) in relation to ice and snow accumulation and removal.

• Marginal note:Cold climate — safety plan and environmental protection plan

  (5) The operator must ensure that an installation that is to be operated in a cold climate is designed, winterized and operated in accordance with the measures referred to in clauses 9(2)(b)(v)(B) and 10(2)(b)(v)(B) that are described in the operator’s safety plan and environmental protection plan, respectively.

• Marginal note:Cold climate — design

  (6) An installation that is to be operated in a cold climate must be designed to

  • (a) ensure the functionality in that climate of the installation and all of its systems and equipment that are critical to safety or to the protection of the environment, including in the case of property changes in fluids; and

  • (b) prevent any impact or damage to electrical cabling in open or unheated spaces and ensure that the cabling maintains its properties under cold-climate conditions.

Marginal note:Design for intended use and location

• 105 (1) An operator must ensure that the structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, are designed for their intended use and location, taking into account

  • (a) the nature of the works and activities to be undertaken on and around the installation and the hazards associated with those works and activities;

  • (b) material properties and dimensions of the installation that may vary over time;

  • (c) failure modes; and

  • (d) applicable safety factors.

• Marginal note:Analyses, tests, modelling and investigations

  (2) The design of the structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, must be based on any analyses, model tests, numerical modelling and site investigations that are necessary to determine the behaviour of the installation and of the soils that support it or its mooring systems under all foreseeable operating, construction, transportation and installation conditions — including those involving geohazards — and under all foreseeable loads during the design service life of the installation.

• Marginal note:Design criteria

  (3) The structural components of an installation and any of its ancillary structures, including skids and modules, must be designed to

  • (a) withstand extreme loads that may occur during their construction and anticipated use;

  • (b) perform as intended during their operation under all anticipated normal loads;

  • (c) not fail under repeated loads;

  • (d) prevent damage that is disproportionate to the cause;

  • (e) prevent localized damage from leading to progressive or complete loss of integrity of the structure;

  • (f) maintain structural integrity for the time necessary to safely evacuate all persons from the installation in the event of major damage caused by foreseeable hazards;

  • (g) in the case of a floating platform,

    • (i) have sufficient stability and buoyancy reserve in the case of damage to ensure that credible scenarios of unintended flooding, if realized, do not result in the loss of the structure, and

    • (ii) incorporate sufficient redundancy in station-keeping systems to ensure that the structure can withstand the loss of a station-keeping component; and

  • (h) in the case of a self-elevating mobile offshore platform, withstand all loads to which the platform may be subjected in each mode of operation, including in the elevated position and during its removal.

• Marginal note:Accidental loads

  (4) For the purposes of paragraphs (3)(d) to (f) and (h), the design must take into account all credible accidental load scenarios, including collisions between the installation and a vessel or aircraft.

Marginal note:Conditions for safe operation and survival

106 Based on the results of any analyses, tests, modelling or investigations undertaken under subsection 105(2), the operator must ensure that

• (a) all physical and environmental conditions that could pose a hazard to the installation are documented and communicated to all affected personnel;

• (b) the environmental limits for the safe operation of the installation are defined, included in operating procedures and communicated to all affected personnel; and

• (c) measures to detect, avoid, prevent, manage and reduce the effects of the hazards posed by the physical and environmental conditions are developed and implemented in operations and incorporated into the design of the installation where required.

Marginal note:Risk assessment — fire, explosion and hazardous gas

• 107 (1) An operator must ensure that an assessment of fire and explosion risks and of risks associated with hazardous gas and its containment is conducted in respect of an installation and that the assessment identifies

  • (a) the types of fires, explosions and hazardous gas releases that could occur, their potential sources and unmitigated consequences, the likelihood of their occurrence and, if applicable, their potential fire or blast loads;

  • (b) measures to be incorporated into the design of the installation, if practicable, to eliminate the hazards identified under paragraph (a); and

  • (c) if it is not practicable to eliminate those hazards through design measures, all necessary control measures to reduce the risks associated with the hazards to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable.

• Marginal note:Elements for consideration

  (2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b) and (c), the assessment must take into account the following elements:

  • (a) the general layout of the installation;

  • (b) the production and process activities to be carried out, including well operations;

  • (c) operating limits of the installation;

  • (d) the types of fires, explosions and hazardous gas releases identified under paragraph (1)(a) and their duration;

  • (e) the need for a means of detecting, from the potential sources identified under paragraph (1)(a),

    • (i) hazardous gas releases, and

    • (ii) outbreaks of fire;

  • (f) the need for a means of isolating and safely storing hazardous substances, including fuel, explosives and chemicals;

  • (g) the need for a safe means of escape, evacuation and rescue in the event of a fire, explosion or hazardous gas release; and

  • (h) the need for a means to ensure levels of emergency shutdown of the installation, systems and equipment in the event of the detection of a hazardous gas release or an outbreak of fire.

Marginal note:Reliability and availability

• 108 (1) An operator must demonstrate, through a risk and reliability analysis conducted using internationally recognized techniques, the reliability and availability of any system in an installation whose failure could cause or contribute to a major accidental event or whose purpose is to prevent or mitigate the effects of a major accidental event.

• Marginal note:Redundancies and measures

  (2) The risk and reliability analysis must determine the redundancies and measures that are required to protect a system referred to in subsection (1) from failure, including any redundancies and measures required under this Part for that system.

• Marginal note:Results of analysis

  (3) The operator must ensure that the results of the risk and reliability analysis are reflected in the design of the installation, its systems and equipment and in any associated operating and maintenance manuals, including the operations manual referred to in section 157.

Marginal note:Monitoring program for physical and environmental conditions

• 109 (1) An operator must develop a monitoring program that involves the collection of data on physical and environmental conditions in sufficient quantities and at sufficient frequencies, and the retention of that data for sufficient periods, to

  • (a) support, during all works and activities, the identification of hazards and the assessment of the safety and environmental risks related to those hazards; and

  • (b) allow for the timely implementation of control measures to address the identified risks and, if necessary, of the contingency plan referred to in section 11.

• Marginal note:Equipment

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the operator must ensure that the installation is equipped to observe, measure and forecast physical and environmental conditions, to record data on those conditions and to obtain from external sources any additional data on those conditions.

• Marginal note:Program implementation and update

  (3) The operator must ensure that the monitoring program is implemented and periodically updated.

• Marginal note:Availability of data

  (4) The operator must ensure that the data referred to in subsection (1) that may have an impact on safety and the protection of the environment is documented and provided to all persons that request it.

Marginal note:Inspection, monitoring, testing and maintenance

110 An operator must, for the purpose of facilitating the inspection, monitoring, testing and maintenance of an installation, ensure that

• (a) relevant areas are clearly marked and identified;

• (b) there is safe access to those areas;

• (c) in the case of an installation that is not intended to be periodically drydocked, there are means for carrying out an on-location inspection of the hull and underwater components;

• (d) there is safe access to subsea equipment; and

• (e) the installation is otherwise designed and equipped to permit those activities to be carried out.

Marginal note:Materials for installations

• 111 (1) An operator must ensure that the materials used in an installation are

  • (a) fit for the purposes for which they are to be used and suitable for the conditions to which they may be subjected, including any foreseeable emergency situation;

  • (b) non-combustible, unless essential properties are available only in materials that are combustible or the use of combustible material will not increase the risk to safety; and

  • (c) selected to ensure that, in the case of fire or explosion, their use will not increase the risk to safety in the area of the fire or explosion or in adjacent areas, including by exposing persons to toxic fumes or smoke.

• Marginal note:Definition of non-combustible

  (2) In this section, non-combustible means, in respect of material, material that does not burn or give off flammable gases or vapours in sufficient quantity for self-ignition when heated to 750°C.

Marginal note:Passive fire and blast protection

• 112 (1) An operator must ensure that an installation is designed and constructed with passive fire and blast protection.

• Marginal note:Design of passive fire protection

  (2) The design of the passive fire protection must

  • (a) not take into account the cooling effect from active firefighting equipment; and

  • (b) take into account the need to inspect and maintain the passive fire protection components and the structures, divisions and equipment they are intended to protect.

• Marginal note:Divisions

  (3) The operator must ensure that the installation is divided such that spacing and barriers protect against accidental events and loads identified in the risk assessment conducted under subsection 107(1) or mitigate their effects.

• Marginal note:Barriers — safety plan and environmental protection plan

  (4) The operator must ensure that barriers are designed, arranged, installed and maintained in accordance with the measures referred to in clauses 9(2)(b)(v)(C) and 10(2)(b)(v)(C) that are described in the operator’s safety plan and environmental protection plan, respectively.

• Marginal note:Barriers — requirements

  (5) Barriers must be designed, arranged, installed and maintained to

  • (a) contain fire, smoke, explosions and hazardous gas and prevent their effects from spreading into adjacent areas;

  • (b) protect persons from fire, smoke and explosions for the time necessary to enable them to escape to a temporary safe refuge;

  • (c) maintain for the necessary time, as determined on the basis of the safety studies referred to in section 116, the integrity of temporary safe refuges and of associated facilities that allow for communication, command, monitoring, control and evacuation against the effects of fire or explosion;

  • (d) protect safety-critical elements and equipment that are to remain operational in the event of an emergency from failure or malfunction caused by the effects of fire or explosion; and

  • (e) maintain the installation’s structural integrity against the effects of fire or explosion for the time necessary to safely evacuate all persons.

• Marginal note:Barriers — level of protection

  (6) The level of fire and blast protection that each barrier must provide is to be based on the results of the risk assessment conducted under subsection 107(1).

• Marginal note:Barriers — penetrations and openings

  (7) A barrier must not have any penetrations or openings unless

  • (a) the penetration or opening is necessary for the functionality of the installation;

  • (b) the barrier is equipped to maintain its overall fire and blast integrity despite the penetration or opening; and

  • (c) if there is a means of closing the penetration or opening, that means can be activated automatically or from outside the space being protected.

• Marginal note:Barrier components

  (8) The operator must ensure that barrier components are certified by a competent third party.

• Marginal note:Bulkheads — production installation

  (9) Unless the other combined features of a production installation can be demonstrated to provide at least the same level of protection, the operator must ensure that the following bulkheads are capable of preventing the passage of smoke and flame and of limiting the temperature rise on the unexposed face of the bulkhead to an average increase of 139°C and a maximum increase of 180°C above the initial temperature following 120 minutes of exposure to a hydrocarbon fire:

  • (a) those external bulkheads of the temporary safe refuges, main control centre, control stations, accommodations areas, embarkation stations and evacuation points, other than aircraft landing areas, that face production areas or wellheads; and

  • (b) the bulkheads that segregate the wellhead and processing areas from other areas of the installation.

• Marginal note:Classification society rules

  (10) The operator must ensure that the passive fire and blast protection for an installation that does not hold a valid certificate of class issued by a classification society is at least equivalent to the protection required under the rules of a classification society for a mobile offshore drilling unit.