Petroleum and Natural Gas Act

PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
GENERAL REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 190/2005, April 1, 2005]

Interpretation

1 In this regulation, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Act" means the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act;

"gas" means natural gas as defined in the Act;

"oil" means petroleum as defined in the Act;

"operator" means the owner responsible to the commission for the drilling, completion, production and abandonment of a well or the general construction, operation and reclamation of any production facility or plant covered by this regulation;

"project area" means the maximum applied for area after any amendments to the geophysical program, determined as the product of the width and the length of the survey line.

Fees

2 The following fees are prescribed:

(a) for the processing under section 131 of the Act of an application for a storage licence or a modification to an existing storage licence, $5 000;

(b) for the issue or renewal, under section 32 of the Act of a geophysical licence, $300;

(c) for an application, under section 3 (1) of the Geophysical Exploration Regulation, for a project approval or for a revised application referred to in section 3 (2) of that regulation, $1 300;

(d) for an application, under section 13 (3) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, to change a well name,

(i) $300 per well for the first 50 wells,

(ii) $150 per well for the next 100 wells, and

(iii) $75 per well for any additional wells;

(e) for an application under section 15 (6) of the Drilling and Production Regulation for a Well Authorization,

(i) $7 900 in respect of the first well on a surface lease, and

(ii) $7 300 in respect of each subsequent well on a surface lease;

(f) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 186/2002, s. (b).]

(g) for an application, under section 16 of the Drilling and Production Regulation, to transfer a well authorization,

(i) $300 per well for the first 50 wells,

(ii) $150 per well for the next 100 wells, and

(iii) $75 per well for any additional wells;

(h) for an application, under section 18 (3) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, for test hole authorization, per test hole, $100;

(i) for an examination, under section 52 (14) (a) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of samples, per day, $30;

(j) for an examination, under section 52 (14) (b) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of cores, per well, $40;

(k) for a removal, under section 52 (14) (b) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of cores from warehouse, per well, $30;

(l) for a daily fee, under section 52 (14) (b) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, for failure to return removed cores, per well, $60;

(m) for a maximum fee, under section 52 (14) (b) for failure to return removed cores, per well, $330;

(n) for a removal, under section 52 (14) (c) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of core from Province, $300;

(o) for a reproduction, under section 57 (14) (a) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of information on microfilm, $6/hr; maximum $50/day/person;

(p) for an examination or copying, under section 57 (14) (b) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, of records, $0.75/page; 3/report; maximum $50/day/person;

(q) for the granting of initial approval to operate a newly constructed gas processing plant or production facility under section 100 (2) of the Drilling and Production Regulation, if the gas processing plant or production facility occupies 3 or more hectares of land, $16 000.

[am. B.C. Regs. 173/99; 383/99; 186/2002; 179/2003; 196/2004; 509/2004; 190/2005.]

Section Repealed

3 Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 233/2003, s. (b).]

Drilling deposits

4 (1) A drilling deposit must be submitted to the commission by the operator of a well, or by the person who drills a test hole, as security for the proper drilling, control, completion, suspension or abandonment of the well or test hole, and to provide for the reclamation and restoration of the well site or test hole site.

(2) A drilling deposit is payable

(a) in cash,

(b) by certified cheque, or

(c) by security deposit in a form acceptable to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

(3) The amount of deposit for an operator is $7 500 or a greater amount specified by the commission to provide adequately for the purposes in subsection (1).

(4) A drilling deposit or any part of it may be refunded

(a) if the application for a well or a test hole is not approved, or

(b) if a well or test hole is abandoned in accordance with the regulations, the well or test hole site is restored and a certificate of restoration is issued for the well or test hole site.

Unitized operations

5 (1) The minister must encourage efforts initiated by owners of oil and gas interests in any pool to consolidate, merge or otherwise combine their interests for the purpose of accomplishing the more efficient and more economical development and production of the oil and gas resources of the pool, irrespective of whether that purpose is accomplished by unit operation, cooperative development or joint participation.

(2) The drilling, production and other field operations provided for in an agreement for the unitized operation of a pool, or a part thereof, must not be put into effect until a copy of the form of the agreement has been filed with the minister and the commission.

(3) If an agreement for the unitized operation of a pool or part thereof has been filed with the minister and the commission,

(a) the minister and the commission must be advised immediately upon the coming into effect of the agreement as to what tracts have qualified for inclusion in the unitized area, and

(b) the minister and the commission must be advised immediately upon any change in the unitized area as to each addition or deletion from the unitized area.

(4) If, by an agreement filed under subsection (2), the owners of the oil and gas interest agree that a designated person is to be their operator with respect to their functions, powers, duties, obligations and responsibilities under the Act and regulations, the performance or nonperformance thereof by the designated person is to be treated as the performance or nonperformance by the owners otherwise responsible therefor under the provisions of the Act and regula-tions.

(5) In the event of non-compliance with a unitization order given under section 115 (2) of the Act, the minister may give instructions for any relevant well or wells to be shut-in for a period determined by the minister.

Availability of records

6 Complete and accurate records of quantities of oil and gas that are produced, sold, purchased, acquired, stored, transported, refined or processed must be kept and maintained in British Columbia, and must be available for examination and copying at all reasonable times by any person authorized by the commission, and the commission may require that the records be filed with the commission.

Reservoir data requests

7 (1) The commission may require reservoir data or other data to be obtained in addition to normal production data and this data may include

(a) reservoir pressure surveys,

(b) well productivity data,

(c) compositional or PVT analyses of reservoir fluid,

(d) special core analyses, and

(e) such other data as the commission may request.

(2) In the case of any test or survey on any well, when requested by the commission, reasonable notice of the time of the test must be given in order that it may be witnessed by the commission.

Scheme reporting

8 (1) If an approval has been issued for a pressure maintenance or improved recovery scheme under section 100 of the Act, the operator, appointed by the owner to whom the approval was issued, must file reports with the commission in accordance with subsections (4), (5), (6) and (10).

(2) The commissioner or deputy commissioner may vary the requirements of subsection (1) with respect to schemes affecting any pool.

(3) Within 60 days after the end of each 6 month period during the first 2 years from the initial fluid injection, and thereafter annually, a report of the progress, performance and efficiency of the scheme during that period must be filed with the commission.

(4) A report required by this section must set out the following information for the reporting period under subsection (3) covered by the report:

(a) the daily average rate during each month of oil production for each producing well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(b) the average gas-oil and water-oil rates during each month for each producing well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(c) the monthly cumulative gas, oil and water production for each producing well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(d) for each type of fluid being injected, the daily average rate of injection per operating day during each month into each injection well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(e) for each type of fluid being injected, the weighted average wellhead injection pressure during each month for each injection well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(f) for each type of fluid being injected, the monthly cumulative volume of fluid injected to each injection well, and for the scheme as a whole;

(g) the current volumetrically weighted formation pressure for the scheme as a whole and a copy of the isobaric map from which this pressure was calculated;

(h) the date and type of any well treatment or workover which must be indicated, in the case of injection wells, on the report of the injected volume, and in the case of producing wells, on the report of the daily average oil production rate;

(i) calculations of the balance during each month between fluids injected into, and fluids withdrawn from, the part of the pool subject to the scheme and by individual patterns, where applicable;

(j) any other interpretative information that is considered necessary, in the opinion of the commission, to evaluate adequately the progress, performance and efficacy of the scheme;

(k) an outline of the method actually in use for the quality control and treatment of fluid being injected, or, where there has been no change in the control or treatment from that outlined in a previous report, a statement to that effect.

(5) Data filed under subsection (4) (a) to (f) must be submitted in graph and table form, unless the commission has authorized in writing the submission of these data in interpretative map or other form.

(6) If the description of the area subject to the scheme is divided into parts, in an approval of a scheme for pressure maintenance or improved recovery, a report must set out for each part the information which subsection (4) requires to be set out for the scheme.

(7) Before the injection of water pursuant to a scheme for pressure maintenance or improved recovery is commenced, the source and suitability of the water to be injected must be approved by the commission.

(8) Before any change is made in the source of water being injected into a pressure maintenance or improved recovery scheme, the suitability of the water to be injected from the new source must be approved by the commission.

(9) A Monthly Injection/Disposal Statement, on the form provided, must be submitted to the commission not later than 25 days after the end of the month reported for any scheme for pressure maintenance or improved recovery.

(10) Any indication of channeling or breakthrough of injected fluids to a producing well or any indication of other detrimental effects that may be attributable to the operation of any scheme for pressure maintenance or improved recovery must be reported to the commission immediately.

[Provisions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 361, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: sections 132 and 133]

Copyright (c) 2005: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada