Canada Oil and Gas Certificate of Fitness Regulations (SOR/96-114)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Canada Oil and Gas Certificate of Fitness Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

accommodation installation

accommodation installation means an installation that is used to accommodate persons at an offshore production site or offshore drill site and that functions independently of an offshore production installation, offshore drilling installation or diving installation, and includes any associated dependent diving system; (installation d’habitation)

Act

Act means the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act; (Loi)

certificate of fitness

certificate of fitness means a certificate issued by a certifying authority in accordance with section 4; (certificat de conformité)

certifying authority

certifying authority means, for the purposes of section 5.12 of the Act, the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Det norskeVeritas Classification A/S, Germanischer Lloyd or Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. (autorité)

Chief

Chief means the Chief Safety Officer; ((délégué))

dependent diving system

dependent diving system means a diving system that is associated with an offshore installation other than a diving installation and that does not function independently of the installation; (système de plongée non autonome)

dependent personnel accommodation

dependent personnel accommodation means personnel accommodation that is associated with an offshore installation other than an accommodation installation and that does not function independently of the offshore installation; (logement du personnel connexe)

diving installation

diving installation means a diving system and any associated vessel that functions independently of an accommodation installation, offshore production installation or offshore drilling installation; (installation de plongée)

diving system

diving system means the plant or equipment used in or in connection with a diving operation, and includes the plant and equipment that are essential to a diver or to a pilot of a manned submersible; (système de plongée)

drilling base

drilling base means the stable foundation on which a drilling rig is installed, and includes the seafloor, an artificial island, an ice platform, a platform fixed to the ground or seafloor and any other foundation specially constructed for drilling operations; (base de forage)

drilling installation

drilling installation means a drilling unit or a drilling rig and its associated drilling base, and includes any associated dependent diving system; (installation de forage)

drilling rig

drilling rig means the plant used to make a well by boring or other means, and includes a derrick, draw-works, rotary table, mud pump, blowout preventer, accumulator, choke manifold and other associated equipment, including power, control and monitoring systems; (appareil de forage)

drilling unit

drilling unit means a drillship, submersible, semi-submersible, barge, jack-up or other vessel that is used in a drilling program and is fitted with a drilling rig, and includes the drilling rig and other facilities related to the drilling program that are installed on a vessel; (unité de forage)

drill site

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

installation

installation means a diving installation, a drilling installation, a production installation or an accommodation installation; (installation)

mobile installation

mobile installation means an offshore installation 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; (installation mobile)

new installation

new installation means an offshore installation that is constructed after the coming into force of these Regulations; (nouvelle installation)

offshore drilling installation

offshore drilling installation means a drilling installation at an offshore drill site; (installation de forage au large des côtes)

offshore drill site

offshore drill site means a drill site that is in a region that is covered by water and is not an island, artificial island or ice platform; (emplacement de forage au large des côtes)

offshore installation

offshore installation means an offshore drilling installation, an offshore production installation, an accommodation installation or a diving installation; (installation au large des côtes)

offshore production installation

offshore production installation means a production installation at an offshore production site; (installation de production au large des côtes)

offshore production site

offshore production site means a production site in a region that is covered by water and is not an island, artificial island or ice platform; (emplacement de production au large des côtes)

operator

operator means a person who has applied for or has been granted a Production Operations Authorization, a Drilling Program Authorization or a Diving Program Authorization pursuant to paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act; (exploitant)

production facility

production facility means equipment for the production of oil or gas located at an offshore production site, including separation, treatment and processing facilities, equipment and facilities used in support of production operations, landing areas, heliports, storage areas or tanks and dependent personnel accommodations, but not including any associated platform, artificial island, subsea production system, drilling equipment or diving system; (matériel de production)

production installation

production installation means a production facility and any associated platform, artificial island, subsea production system, offshore loading system, drilling equipment, facilities related to marine activities and dependent diving system; (installation de production)

production operation

production operation means any operation that is related to the production of oil or gas from a pool or field; (travaux de production)

production site

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

scope of work

scope of work means the plan of activities carried out by a certifying authority and submitted to the Chief for approval pursuant to section 6, for the purposes of issuing a certificate of fitness; (plan de travail)

subsea production system

subsea production system means equipment and structures that are located on or below or buried in the seafloor for the production of oil or gas from, or for the injection of fluids into, a field under an offshore production site, and includes production risers, flow lines and associated production control systems. (système de production sous-marin)

Application

3 These Regulations apply in respect of those submarine areas not within a province, adjacent to the coast of Canada and extending throughout the natural prolongation of the land territory of Canada to the outer edge of the continental margin or to a distance of two hundred nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Canada is measured, whichever is the greater.

Issuance of Certificates of Fitness

• 4 (1) The following installations are prescribed for the purposes of section 5.12 of the Act:

  • (a) each production installation, accommodation installation and diving installation at an offshore production site; and

  • (b) each drilling installation, diving installation and accommodation installation at an offshore drill site.

• (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (5) and section 5, a certifying authority may issue a certificate of fitness in respect of the installations referred to in subsection (1), if the certifying authority

  • (a) determines that, in relation to the production or drill site or region in which the particular installation is to be operated, the installation

    • (i) is designed, constructed, transported and installed or established in accordance with

      • (A) Parts I to III of the Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations,

      • (B) the provisions of the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations listed in Part 1 of the schedule to these Regulations, and

      • (C) the provisions of the Canada Oil and Gas Diving Regulations listed in Part 2 of the schedule to these Regulations, if the installation includes a dependent diving system,

    • (ii) is fit for the purpose for which it is to be used and can be operated safely without polluting the environment, and

    • (iii) will continue to meet the requirements of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) for the period of validity that is endorsed on the certificate of fitness if the installation is maintained in accordance with the inspection, maintenance and weight control programs submitted to and approved by the certifying authority under subsection (5); and

  • (b) carries out the scope of work in respect of which the certificate of fitness is issued.

• (3) For the purposes of subparagraph (2)(a)(i), the certifying authority may substitute, for any equipment, methods, measure or standard required by any Regulations referred to in that subparagraph, equipment, methods, measures or standards the use of which is authorized by the Chief or Chief Conservation Officer, as applicable under section 16 of the Act.

• (4) The certifying authority shall endorse on any certificate of fitness it issues details of every limitation on the operation of the installation that is necessary to ensure that the installation meets the requirements of paragraph (2)(a).

• (5) The certifying authority shall not issue a certificate of fitness unless, for the purpose of enabling the certifying authority to determine whether the installation meets the requirements of paragraph (2)(a) and to carry out the scope of work referred to in paragraph (2)(b),

  • (a) the person applying for the certificate

    • (i) provides the certifying authority with all the information required by the certifying authority,

    • (ii) carries out or assists the certifying authority to carry out every inspection, test or survey required by the certifying authority, and

    • (iii) submits to the certifying authority an inspection and monitoring program, a maintenance program and a weight control program for approval; and

  • (b) if the programs are adequate to ensure and maintain the integrity of the installation, the certifying authority approves the programs referred to in subparagraph (a)(iii).

Conflict of Interest

5 The certifying authority shall not issue a certificate of fitness in respect of an installation if the certifying authority has been involved, other than as a certifying authority or a classification body, in the design, construction or installation of the installation.

Approval of Scope of Work

• 6 (1) The certifying authority shall, for the purposes of issuing a certificate of fitness in respect of an offshore installation, submit a scope of work to the Chief for approval.

• (2) The Chief shall approve a scope of work where the Chief determines that the scope of work

  • (a) is sufficiently detailed to permit the certifying authority to determine whether the installation meets the requirements of paragraph 4(2)(a); and

  • (b) provides for the means for determining whether

    • (i) the environmental criteria for the region or site and the loads assumed for the installation are correct,

    • (ii) in respect of an offshore production installation, the concept safety analysis required by section 44 of the Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations meets the requirements of that section,

    • (iii) in respect of a new installation, the installation has been constructed in accordance with a quality assurance program referred to in section 4 of the Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations,

    • (iv) the operations manual meets the requirements of section 64 of the Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations,

    • (v) the construction and installation of the installation has been carried out in accordance with the design specifications,

    • (vi) the materials used in the construction and installation of the installation meet the design specifications,

    • (vii) the structures, facilities, equipment and systems critical to safety, and to the protection of the natural environment, are in place and functioning appropriately, and

    • (viii) in respect of an offshore drilling installation or an offshore production installation, the structures, facilities, equipment and systems to meet the requirements of the provisions of the Canada Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations listed in Part 3 of the schedule to these Regulations are in place and functioning appropriately.

Expiration Date

• 7 (1) If the certifying authority determines that, when the installation is maintained in accordance with the programs submitted to it under subparagraph 4(5)(a)(iii), the installation will meet the requirements of paragraph 4(2)(a) for a period of at least five years, the certifying authority shall endorse on the certificate of fitness an expiration date that is five years after the date of issuance.

• (2) If the period of time referred to in subsection (1) is less than five years, the certifying authority shall endorse on the certificate of fitness an expiration date that is the number of years or months in that lesser period after the date of issuance.

• (3) A certificate of fitness shall expire on the expiration date that is endorsed on it.

Area of Validity

• 8 (1) The certifying authority shall endorse on the certificate of fitness a description of the site or region in which the installation is to be operated.

• (2) A certificate of fitness is valid for the operation of the installation at the site or in the region that is endorsed on it.

Invalidity

• 9 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a certificate of fitness ceases to be valid where

  • (a) the certifying authority or the Chief determines

    • (i) that any of the information submitted under subsection 4(5) was incorrect and that the certificate of fitness would not have been issued if that information had been correct,

    • (ii) that the installation no longer meets the requirements of paragraph 4(2)(a), or

    • (iii) that the installation has not been inspected, monitored and maintained in accordance with any limitations endorsed on the certificate of fitness; or

  • (b) the Chief determines that the certifying authority has failed to carry out the scope of work relating to the installation in respect of which the certificate of fitness was issued.

• (2) At least 30 days before a determination is made pursuant to subsection (1), notice, in writing, that a determination is going to be made shall be given

  • (a) in the case of a determination by the certifying authority, by the certifying authority to the Chief and the person to whom the certificate of fitness in respect of which the determination is to be made has been issued; and

  • (b) in the case of a determination by the Chief, by the Chief to the certifying authority and the person referred to in paragraph (a).

• (3) Before making a determination pursuant to subsection (1), the certifying authority or the Chief, as the case may be, shall consider any information in relation to that determination that is provided by any person notified pursuant to subsection (2).

Change of Certifying Authority

10 Where a person to whom a certificate of fitness has been issued intends to change the certifying authority in respect of an installation, the person shall

• (a) where possible, notify the Chief at least 90 days before the change is made; and

• (b) where it is not possible to notify the Chief in accordance with paragraph (a), notify the Chief as soon as the person changes the certifying authority.