Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Installations Regulations (SOR/95-191)
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Regulations are current to 2024-11-26 and last amended on 2020-10-06. Previous Versions
PART IGeneral Requirements
General
3 For the purpose of ensuring the safety of an installation, no operator shall use the installation unless the equipment on the installation is arranged in accordance with these Regulations to
(a) provide for the safety of personnel;
(b) minimize damage to the environment; and
(c) enable easy access to the equipment.
Quality Assurance
4 (1) Every new installation shall be designed, constructed, installed and commissioned in accordance with a quality assurance program that complies with subsection (2) and that is selected in accordance with Canadian Standards Association CAN3-Z299.0-86, Guide for Selecting and Implementing the CAN3-Z299-85 Quality Assurance Program Standards.
(2) A quality assurance program shall be developed in accordance with
(a) Canadian Standards Association CAN3-Z299.l-85, Quality Assurance Program — Category 1;
(b) Canadian Standards Association CAN3-Z299.2-85, Quality Control Program — Category 2;
(c) Canadian Standards Association CAN3-Z299.3-85, Quality Verification Program — Category 3; and
(d) Canadian Standards Association CAN3-Z299.4-85, Inspection Program — Category 4.
Helicopter Deck
5 (1) Every helicopter deck or facility that forms part of an installation shall
(a) conform to Transport Canada TP 4414, Guidelines Respecting Helicopter Facilities on Ships; and
(b) be equipped so that any fuel stored on or adjacent to the helicopter deck or to the accommodation areas
(i) can be jettisoned by action taken at another location on the installation, or
(ii) is protected against damage or impact.
(2) Every helicopter deck that forms part of an installation shall be in a location that is readily accessible to and from the dependent personnel accommodation of the installation.
Facilities for Inspection and Maintenance
6 An installation shall be designed and equipped in such a manner as to allow for the monitoring, maintenance and periodic inspection of the installation, including
(a) clear marking and identification of the areas to be inspected;
(b) provision for safe access to and adequate inspection space for the areas to be inspected;
(c) space for the storage and operation of diving equipment;
(d) means to facilitate the work of divers, where inspection by divers is required;
(e) means to assist maintenance personnel, including those doing underwater maintenance, to perform their work safely and effectively; and
(f) in the case of a mobile platform that is not intended to be periodically drydocked, means to facilitate on-location inspection of the hull.
Secondary Structures and Fittings
7 All decks, deckhouses, skids, modules and other structures located or installed on an installation shall be capable of withstanding all the loads and forces to which they will be subjected, as determined in accordance with section 44.
Arrangements of Materials and Equipment
8 (1) In this section
- flame-type equipment
flame-type equipment means any electric or fired heating equipment that uses an open flame, electric arc or element, and includes a space heater, a torch, a heated process vessel, a boiler, an electric arc or an open flame welder, or an open element electric heater or appliance; (équipement de type à flamme)
- process vessel
process vessel means a heater, dehydrator, separator, treater or vessel used in the processing or treatment of produced gas or oil. (récipient de fabrication)
(2) No person shall create or cause to be created any unprotected flame or source of ignition within 50 m of a well, an oil storage tank or other source of ignitable vapour.
(3) No flame-type equipment shall be placed or operated within 25 m of a well, an oil storage tank or other source of ignitable vapour, except
(a) where the well is
(i) a water supply well, or
(ii) a water injection well equipped with a suitable packer and with the surface casing annulus vented outside any building; or
(b) where emergency works requires the use of flame-type equipment and the wellhead valves and blow-out preventer, if any, are closed.
(4) No flame-type equipment shall be placed or operated within 25 m of a process vessel, unless the flame-type equipment is fitted with an adequate flame arrester.
(5) No flame-type equipment shall be located in the same building as a process vessel or other source of ignitable vapour, unless
(a) the air intakes and flues of all burners are located outside the building;
(b) relief valves, safety heads and other sources of ignitable vapours are vented outside the building and discharged above roof level; and
(c) the building is adequately cross-ventilated.
(6) All process vessels and equipment from which ignitable vapour may issue shall be vented to the atmosphere, and all vent lines from every storage tank that is vented to flare pits or flare stacks shall be provided with flame arresters or other equivalent safety devices.
(7) An exhaust pipe from an internal combustion engine located within 25 m of a well, a process vessel, an oil storage tank or other source of ignitable vapour shall be constructed so that
(a) any emergence of flame along its length or at its end is prevented; and
(b) the end is at least 6 m from the vertical centre line of the well projected upward and shall be directed away from the well.
(8) All equipment at or near a well, a process vessel, an oil storage tank or other source of ignitable vapour shall be constructed in accordance with Part I of the Canadian Electrical Code Part I and the Oil and Gas Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
Access to Hazardous Areas
9 (1) Subject to subsection (2), there shall not be direct access or any opening in an installation between
(a) a non-hazardous area and a hazardous area; or
(b) a Class I, Division 2, hazardous area and a Class I, Division 1, hazardous area.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5), an enclosed area that has direct access to, and that is classified as less hazardous than, a Class I, Division 1, hazardous area or a Class I, Division 2, hazardous area shall be considered to have the same classification as the area to which it has direct access.
(3) An enclosed area that has direct access to a Class I, Division 1, area shall be considered to be a Class I, Division 2, hazardous area if
(a) the access is fitted with a self-closing gastight door that opens into the enclosed area; and
(b) when the door is open, the air flows from the enclosed area into the Class I, Division 1, hazardous area.
(4) An enclosed area shall not be considered to be a hazardous area because of its direct access to a Class I, Division 2, hazardous area if
(a) the access is fitted with a self-closing gastight door that opens into the enclosed area; and
(b) when the door is open, the air flows from the enclosed area into the Class I, Division 2, hazardous area.
(5) An enclosed area shall not be considered to be a hazardous area because of its direct access to a Class I, Division 1, hazardous area if
(a) the access is fitted with self-closing gastight doors forming an air-lock; and
(b) the enclosed area is maintained at a pressure that is higher than the pressure maintained in the Class I, Division 1, hazardous area.
(6) Piping systems on an installation shall be designed to preclude direct communications between hazardous areas of different classifications and between hazardous and non-hazardous areas.
Ventilation of Hazardous Areas
10 (1) Every enclosed hazardous area on an installation shall be ventilated.
(2) The ventilation systems fitted on an installation for the purpose of subsection (1) shall be capable of replacing the air in the hazardous area at the rate of once every five minutes.
(3) Where a mechanical ventilation system is used for the purpose of subsection (1), the air in the enclosed hazardous area shall be maintained at a pressure that is lower than the pressure of each adjacent hazardous area that is classified as less hazardous.
(4) All air let into an enclosed hazardous area shall be taken from a non-hazardous area, and where the inlet duct passes through a hazardous area classified as more hazardous than the one to which the duct leads, the air in the inlet duct shall be maintained at a pressure that is higher than the pressure of the air in the hazardous area through which it passes.
(5) All air let out of an enclosed hazardous area shall be let into an outdoor area that would be classified as the same as or less hazardous than the enclosed hazardous area if it did not receive the air from the enclosed hazardous area.
(6) The ventilation system for every non-hazardous area shall be separate from the ventilation system for every hazardous area, and the ventilation fan inlets and outlets shall be arranged to prevent the air from a hazardous area from moving, as a result of the operation of any fan or the wind, into an area classified as less hazardous.
(7) Every ventilation outlet duct leading from a non-hazardous area where drilling or production operations are conducted to a Class I, Division 2, hazardous area shall be equipped with self-closing shutters and a gas detector.
(8) A differential pressure gauge shall be installed to monitor any loss of ventilation pressure differential required by subsection (3) or (4) or maintained under section 9, and to activate audible and visual alarms at the appropriate control point after a suitable period of delay not exceeding 30 seconds if a loss occurs.
(9) The control station and all accommodation areas on an installation shall
(a) be maintained at a positive overpressure relative to atmospheric pressure; and
(b) have airlock arrangements on all external doors.
(10) The power for a mechanical ventilation system provided in accommodation areas, working areas, flammable liquid storage areas and other hazardous locations of an installation shall be capable of being shut off from the control station and from a position that is outside the area being served by the ventilation system and that will remain accessible during any fire that may occur within the area being ventilated.
(11) The main inlets and outlets of all ventilation systems shall be capable of being closed from a position that is outside the area being served by the ventilation system and that will remain accessible during any fire that may occur within the area being ventilated.
General Electrical Standards
11 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), all electric motors, lighting fixtures, electric wiring and other electrical equipment on an installation shall be designed, installed and maintained in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute RP l4F, Recommended Practice for Design and Installation of Electrical Systems for Offshore Production Platforms.
(2) Electrical wiring on an installation shall be
(a) designed in accordance with International Electrotechnical Commission Publication 92-3, Electrical Installations in Ships, Part 3: Cables (construction, testing and installations) and tested for Category A in accordance with International Electrotechnical Commission Publication 332-3, Tests on electrical cables under fire conditions, Part 3: Tests on bunched wires or cables; and
(b) tested for impact at -35°C and bending at -40°C in accordance with Canadian Standards Association Standard C22.2 No. 0.3-M1985, Test Methods for Electrical Wires and Cables.
(3) Where a primary or secondary distribution system for power, heating or lighting, with no connection to earth, is used on an installation, a device capable of continuously monitoring the insulation level to earth and of giving an audible or visual indication of abnormally low insulation values shall be provided.
(4) The primary source of electrical power on every installation shall
(a) include at least two power plants;
(b) be capable of supporting all normal operations without recourse to the emergency source of electrical power required by section 12; and
(c) if one of the power plants is out of operation, be capable of supporting all operations except drilling and production operations.
(5) The primary circuits from the power plant serving an installation shall be equipped with at least two manual shut-off switches, each at a different location.
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