Oil and Gas Activities Act

1
Oil and Gas Activities Act Bill 20 -
2008 Presentation to the College of Applied
Biology by Barbara Thomson Ministry of
Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources May 8,
2008
2
Oil and Gas Activities Act (OGAA)

• Overview key elements
• New Permit
• Consultation before applications filed
• Enhanced CE powers and tools
• Enhanced environmental regulation
• Formal appeal mechanism

3
Oil and Gas Regulation- Background

• Petroleum and Natural Gas Act tenure
  administration, regulation of oil and gas
  exploration and development (regulatory
  provisions replaced by OGAA)
• Pipeline Act regulation of pipeline
  construction, operation and abandonment (replaced
  by OGAA)
• Oil and Gas Commission Act establishes Oil and
  Gas Commission as regulator and the decision
  maker for oil and gas approvals (replaced by OGAA)

4
Legislative History vs Pattern of Activity

5
Oil and Gas Commission Act (current)

• OGC created as single window regulator in 1998
• Regulatory authority transferred from MEMPR
• Statutory decision making powers for specified
  decisions under 6 other statutes transferred to
  OGC
• Environmental Management Act
• Forest Act
• Heritage Conservation Act
• Forest Act
• Forest Practices Code of BC Act
• Water Act
• Aka Specified Enactment powers

6
Oil and Gas Activities Act - Basic Structure

• Permits
• Specified enactment powers (continued)
• CE
• Role of compliance history (new)
• Administrative penalties (new)
• Offences (significantly increased)
• Regulations
• Technical (continued)
• Environmental (new)
• Consultation (new)
• Auditing
• Ministers of EMPR and Environment (new)

7
Permits (New)

• Single permit can cover multiple approvals
• Geophysical
• Wells
• Pipelines
• Related approvals
• Benefits
• Improved efficiency and information
• Specified enactment approvals
• Structurally linked to OGAA permit
• Requirements and obligations on completion of
  activity
• Under OGAA
• Under Specified enactments
• Liability continues

8
Compliance and Enforcement (Enhanced)

• Expanded powers to take action for
• Non-compliance or risk to environment, safety or
  resource conservation
• remediation orders
• Continuation of extraordinary powers
• To undertake compliance order
• Take control of a spill, well site or facility
• Linkage to powers OGC has in relation to a permit
  (New)
• Amend, suspend or cancel a permit
• Actions related to other permits held by same
  permit holder
• Issuance of new permits
• Administrative Penalties / Offences (New)

9
Administrative Penalties (New)

• NEW CE Tool
• Financial penalty issued in relation to a
  contravention
• Factors to be considered
• Compliance record
• Severity of contravention
• Harm
• Repetition
• Intent
• Economic benefit
• Preventative action / Corrective action taken

10
Offences (Increased)

• Offence penalties significantly increased under
  OGAA
• Old
• PNG Act - 500 - 5,000
• Pipeline Act - 1,000 plus 500 per day
  reoccurrence
• New (OGAA)
• 25,000 to 1.5 million and up to 3 years
  imprisonment
• Offences impairing the environment among those
  that attract the highest penalties

11
Environmental Regulation (New)

• For purposes of environmental protection and
  management, regulatory powers respecting actions
  that person carrying out an oil and gas activity
  must take or refrain from taking
• Key topics to include
• wildlife, wildlife habitat and biodiversity
• water quality, streams, wetlands and lakes,
  watersheds, aquifers
• old-growth management areas, wildlife trees
• soils
• invasive plants
• range, forest and resource features
• Ministers of Environment, Forest and Range, and
  Agriculture and Lands have additional powers to
  establish measures in relation to defined issues

12
Review and Appeal Process (New)

• Reviews of and appeals to regulatory decisions
  (permit decisions, orders, findings of
  contravention, administrative penalties,
  prescribed decisions)
• Reviews conducted by review official of the OGC
• Appeals heard by Oil and Gas Appeal Tribunal
• initial board may be appointed from EAB / FAC
  membership
• appeal may be to an original decision or a
  decision of the review official

13
Audit (New)

• Official audit powers of OGC operations are new
• Minister of EMPR broad powers to audit any part
  of exercise of OGC authority
• Minister of Environment powers to audit any
  part of exercise of OGC authority as it relates
  to the environment

14
Summary

• Single Act which applies to all aspects of an oil
  and gas activity
• Enhanced and modern powers and tools for
  compliance and enforcement
• Improved linkage between environmental regulatory
  requirements for oil and gas and government-wide
  environmental objectives