scholarly journals Recent Regulatory and Legislative Development of Interest to Oil and Gas Lawyers

2002 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Luigi A. Cusano ◽  
David M. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

In this article the authors highlight regulatory and legislative developments during the period of May 2000 through April 2001 that are of particular interest to oil and gas lawyers. Decisions of the National Energy Board and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board are the primary focus for regulatory developments. Key policy developments, guidelines and directives of the AEUB, the Canadian-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board are also examined. With respect to legislative developments, particular emphasis is placed on Alberta and federal legislative developments, although notable developments in other jurisdictions are also highlighted.

scholarly journals Environmental Protection and Oil and Gas Production in the Nova Scotia Offshore: A Guidelines Approach to Operational Discharges

1969 ◽  
pp. 347
Author(s):  
Mikis Manolis
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Statutory Authority ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

This article examines and describes the regulatory framework governing the production of oil and gas in the Nova Scotia offshore. Specific attention is given to the ecological dangers posed by operational discharges into the marine environment by the oil and gas industry. The regulation of operational discharges under the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and the role of guidelines in this regard is discussed. It is argued that the attempted use of guidelines by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board to impose binding requirements on operators is beyond its statutory authority. The administrative problems associated with these "mandatory" guidelines are also discussed.

2021 Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 291
Author(s):  
Paul Trotman
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Domestic Demand ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Demand Growth ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
The Future ◽  
Policy Work ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

In 2020, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade saw a modest increase of 1%, which is in contrast to the strong growth of previous years. Recently, the global LNG trade has picked up following the easing of impacts from the pandemic and demand growth in Asia. An increase of 6% in the global LNG trade is expected in 2021 and 2022. Domestic demand for gas remains high, with gas being used both for residential supply and also as an essential feedstock for the manufacturing industry. With a projected domestic gas shortfall, the future exploration and development of oil and gas will play a key role in ensuring access to secure, reliable and affordable energy in the future as well as assisting economic recovery from the pandemic. The importance of remaining an attractive investment destination is essential. Our challenge is to not only strike the balance of being agile and adaptive to market disruptions but also provide robust policy and regulatory frameworks to underpin future investment in the sector. Against this backdrop, this paper provides details of the 2021 offshore petroleum exploration acreage release and information about the ongoing policy work of the department.

Is Australia Prepared for the Decommissioning Challenge? A Regulator's Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Christensen ◽  
Andrew Re
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Independent Expert ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

Abstract The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is Australia's independent expert regulator for health and safety, structural (well) integrity and environmental management for all offshore oil and gas operations and greenhouse gas storage activities in Australian waters, and in coastal waters where regulatory powers and functions have been conferred. The Australian offshore petroleum industry has been in operation since the early 1960s and currently has approximately 57 platforms, 11 floating facilities, 3,500km of pipelines and 1000 wells in operation. Many offshore facilities are now approaching the end of their operational lives and it is estimated that over the next 50 years decommissioning of this infrastructure will cost more than US$40.5 billion. Decommissioning is a normal and inevitable stage in the lifetime of an offshore petroleum project that should be planned from the outset and matured throughout the life of operations. While only a few facilities have been decommissioned in Australian waters, most of Australia's offshore infrastructure is now more than 20 years old and entering a phase where they require extra attention and close maintenance prior to decommissioning. When the NOGA group of companies entered liquidation in 2020 and the Australian Government took control of decommissioning the Laminaria and Corallina field development it became evident that there were some fundamental gaps in relation to decommissioning in the Australian offshore petroleum industry. There are two key focus areas that require attention. Firstly, regulatory reform including policy change and modification to regulatory practice. Secondly, the development of visible and robust decommissioning plans by Industry titleholders. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance and benefit of adopting good practice when planning for decommissioning throughout the life cycle of a petroleum project. Whilst not insurmountable, the closing of these gaps will ensure that Australia is well placed to deal with the decommissioning challenge facing the industry in the next 50 years.

Guest Editorial: Three Pathways to Relevance and Profitability

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
Manas Satapathy ◽  
Herve Wilczynski
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Production Management ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Half Cycle ◽  
Development Costs ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Primary Focus

For most of the past 160 years, the exploration and production (E&P) sector earned outsized economic rent for finding new oil and gas (O&G) resources and making them economically viable for production. This was possible because of the perceived scarcity of such resources; demand expectations for hydrocarbon products far exceeded their likely supply. During that period, E&P companies focused on building functional expertise to enable growth and operate assets safely. Exploration and appraisal capabilities were particularly revered as key drivers of value. Other areas of the value chain such as field production management, logistics, or even marketing were not seen as critically differentiating. Understandably, building expertise in those areas was never made the primary focus. What a difference a decade makes. Perpetual Disruption Is the New Normal Today, we live in a completely different world. The challenges facing upstream companies simply did not exist 10 years ago. Six compressive forces, in particular, are bringing about a sea change in the industry. Earlier this year, COVID-19 brought with it a sharp and palpable drop in demand for transportation-related crude. With the dramatic structural changes we have made to the ways we live and work in response to the pandemic, low crude demand is expected to continue. This will only exacerbate resource holders’ concerns about supply overabundance. E&P companies that hold hydrocarbon resources were already worried that the resources they own could go unmonetized. Now, that threat is stronger than ever. So is the incentive to monetize their resources as quickly as possible. Ironically, their actions to do so will make the oversupply situation worse. Beyond the issues of supply and demand, the industry’s general economic climate is wreaking havoc. O&G companies typically focus on half-cycle economics or lifting costs when making production decisions. That is because land acquisition and development costs are considered sunk. If oil prices stay in the $40-50/bbl range, many asset classes will simply be uneconomical from a full-cycle standpoint.

scholarly journals Proper Use of Technical Standards in Offshore Petroleum Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Brkić ◽  
Pavel Praks
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Technical Standards ◽  
The North ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

Ships for drilling need to operate in the territorial waters of many different countries which can have different technical standards and procedures. For example, the European Union and European Economic Area EU/EEA product safety directives exclude from their scope drilling ships and related equipment onboard. On the other hand, the EU/EEA offshore safety directive requires the application of all the best technical standards that are used worldwide in the oil and gas industry. Consequently, it is not easy to select the most appropriate technical standards that increase the overall level of safety and environmental protection whilst avoiding the costs of additional certifications. We will show how some technical standards and procedures, which are recognized worldwide by the petroleum industry, can be accepted by various standardization bodies, and how they can fulfil the essential health and safety requirements of certain directives. Emphasis will be placed on the prevention of fire and explosion, on the safe use of equipment under pressure, and on the protection of personnel who work with machinery. Additionally considered is how the proper use of adequate procedures available at the time would have prevented three large scale offshore petroleum accidents: the Macondo Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; the Montara in the Timor Sea in 2009; the Piper Alpha in the North Sea in 1988.

Connecting with Community: The Importance of Community Engagement in Rural Public Library Systems

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Howard ◽  
Heather Reid
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Population Rurale ◽  
Primary Focus

Urban public library systems have been the primary focus of study for community engagement and community-led approaches. Nova Scotia is largely rural and sparsely populated, with a dwindling and aging rural population. This presentation examines how community engagement can connect Nova Scotia’s rural public libraries with their communities. Les systèmes de bibliothèques publiques urbaines ont été le principal objet d’investigation pour l'étude de l'engagement communautaire et des approches à visée communautaire. La Nouvelle-Écosse est essentiellement rurale et peu peuplée, avec une population rurale en déclin et vieillissante. Cet article examine comment l'engagement communautaire peut établir la connexion entre les bibliothèques publiques rurales de la Nouvelle-Écosse et leurs communautés.

PESA Australian exploration review 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
D. Lockhart ◽  
D. Spring
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
3D Seismic ◽  
The North ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Gippsland Basin ◽  
2D And 3D ◽  
Conventional Oil ◽  
Exploration Activity ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

Available data for 2018 indicates that exploration activity is on the rise in Australia, compared to 2017, and this represents a second year of growth in exploration activity in Australia. There has been an increase in area under licence by 92 000 km2, reversing the downward trend in area under licence that commenced in 2014. Since 2016, exploratory drilling within Australia has seen a continued upward trend in both the number of wells drilled and the percentage of total worldwide. Onshore, 77 conventional exploration and appraisal wells were spudded during the year. Offshore, exploration and appraisal drilling matched that seen in 2017, with five new wells spudded: two in the Roebuck Basin, two in the Gippsland Basin and one in the North Carnarvon Basin. Almost 1500 km of 2D seismic and over 10 000 km2 of 3D seismic were acquired within Australia during 2018, accounting for 2.4% and 3.9% of global acquisition, respectively. This represents an increase in the amount of both 2D and 3D seismic acquired in Australia compared with 2017. Once the 2017 Offshore Petroleum Acreage Release was finalised, seven new offshore exploration permits were awarded as a result. A total of 12 bids were received for round one of the 2018 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Release, demonstrating an increase in momentum for offshore exploration in Australia. The permits are in Commonwealth waters off Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier islands. In June 2018, the Queensland Government announced the release of 11 areas for petroleum exploration acreage in onshore Queensland, with tenders closing in February/March 2019; a further 11 areas will be released in early 2019. The acreage is a mix of coal seam gas and conventional oil and gas. Victoria released five areas in the offshore Otway Basin within State waters. In the Northern Territory, the moratorium on fracking was lifted in April, clearing the way for exploration to recommence in the 2019 dry season. With the increase in exploration has come an increase in success, with total reserves discovered within Australia during 2018 at just under 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, representing a significant increase from 2017. In 2018, onshore drilling resulted in 18 new discoveries, while offshore, two new discoveries were made. The most notable exploration success of 2018 was Dorado-1 drilled in March by Quadrant and Carnarvon Petroleum in the underexplored Bedout Sub-basin. Dorado is the largest oil discovery in Australia of 100 million barrels, or over, since 1996 and has the potential to reinvigorate exploration in the region.

Methane emissions from abandoned coal and oil and gas developments in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

2019 ◽  
Vol 191 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Williams ◽  
David Risk ◽  
Alexander Marshall ◽  
Nick Nickerson ◽  
Alexandra Martell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Methane Emissions

scholarly journals Geology and prospects of oil and gas bearing of east — Canadian continental margins

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-669
Author(s):  
A. Zabanbark ◽  
L. I. Lobkovsky
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
The North ◽  
Gas Bearing

At the limit of the East-Canadian continental margin there are three oil and gas regions from north to south: Labrador Sea shelves, margins of the Great Newfoundland Bank and the continental margin of Nova Scotia. In each of these distinguishing regions are a number of sedimentary basins completely plunging under the water. At the shelf of Labrador Sea distinguishing the following large sedimentary basins: Saglek, Hopdale and Havke, at the margin of Newfoundland Bank it is known the basins: Jeanne d’Arc, Flemish Pass and Orphan. At the Nova Scotia shelf there are Nova Scotian and Sable basins. It is remarkable at the lofty latitude like of Labrador Sea region the age of the productive sediments beginning from more ancient rocks (Paleozoic), than in basins situated in law latitude (Mesozoic). In consequence of this the stratigraphy diapason of oil and gas bearing of the north latitude is considerably wide. The prospect of oil and gas bearing in all region is related principally with continental slopes and turbidites sediments in its. Late Jurassic and early Cretaceous reservoirs would be the aim for deep drilling sediments. Wide distribution of late Cretaceous and early Tertiary prospects reservoirs of oil and gas is quite really so far as they are bedded in the shallow horizons. Also the prospect of oil and gas bearing at the margin of the basin is related to late Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, to deposits of fan and diapirs salt.

Reducing the complexity of environmental approvals: learnings from an industry-wide collaborative effort

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 719
Author(s):  
Matthew Smith
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Intractable Problems ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

This extended abstract uses the reference case project, initiated by National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, now led by National Energy Resources Australia, to delve into the underlying issues in the environmental approvals process and propose the root causes that have influenced this flagship collaborative effort. Collaboration for competitors is inherently difficult. The basis for meaningful collaboration is to find intractable problems that are better solved by a collection of participants with a common purpose. The environmental approvals process has evolved into an intractable problem that is adversely affecting the oil and gas industry’s ability to explore by becoming a barrier to investment and a source of uncertainty in project execution. Successive Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association conferences, and oil and gas industry leaders, have frequently promoted the collaboration imperative to the industry. Indeed, there is broad agreement, and many international examples on matters of health, safety and environmental management, that there is no value in competition. Why then is meaningful collaboration so difficult to deliver in an environmental management setting in Australia? This paper explores the successes and failures of the reference case project to illuminate the realities of collaboration in the Australian offshore petroleum industry. The paper shares insights from project leads, participants, decision makers and stakeholders and covers how collaboration can unlock barriers to investment and deliver greater certainty to the oil and gas industry and the Australian community.

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