Canada Petroleum Resources Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 36 (2nd Supp.))

Marginal note:Deemed notice

93 The registration of an instrument under this Part shall be deemed to constitute actual notice of the instrument to all persons as of the time of registration of the instrument and, in the case of a security notice, shall be deemed to constitute actual notice to all persons who may serve a demand for information under section 95 in respect of the security notice of the contents of the documents specified in the security notice.

Marginal note:Priority of rights

• 94 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (5), any particular right, in relation to an interest or a share therein, in respect of which an instrument has been registered under this Part at any time has priority over and is valid against any other right, in relation to that interest or share,

  • (a) in respect of which an instrument may be registered under this Part,

    • (i) where the instrument was not so registered, or

    • (ii) where the instrument was so registered after that time,

    whether that other right was acquired before or after that particular right; or

  • (b) in respect of which an instrument may not be registered under this Part, acquired after that time.

• Marginal note:Transitional

  (2) Where any right in respect of which an instrument may be registered under this Part was acquired before the coming into force of this Part and an instrument in respect of that right is registered under this Part not later than one hundred and eighty days after the coming into force of this Part, the priority and validity of that right shall be determined as though the instrument was registered under this Part at the time the right was acquired and as though this Part was in force at that time.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), no right in respect of which that subsection applies shall have priority over and be valid against any other right in respect of which that subsection applies but in respect of which an instrument is not registered within the period referred to in that subsection, where the person claiming the right in respect of which an instrument is registered within that period acquired that right with actual knowledge of the other right.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) No instrument in respect of any right to which subsection (2) applies shall be registered unless it is accompanied by the statutory declaration, in prescribed form, of the person claiming that right, attesting to the time at which that right was acquired.

• Marginal note:Operator’s lien

  (5) An operator’s lien, in relation to an interest or share therein, shall, without registration of any document evidencing the operator’s lien, have priority over and be valid against any other right, in relation to that interest or share, in respect of which an instrument may be registered under this Part, whether an instrument in respect of that other right was registered before or after the acquisition of the operator’s lien or the operator’s lien was acquired before or after that other right, unless the operator’s lien is postponed with respect to such other rights by the registration under this Part of a postponement in respect of the operator’s lien and a discharge in respect of that postponement has not been registered under this Part.

Marginal note:Demand for information

• 95 (1) A person may, in accordance with this section, serve a demand for information in respect of a security notice that has been registered under this Part in relation to an interest or a share therein where that person

  • (a) is the holder of that interest or share;

  • (b) is specified in the security notice as the person from whom the security interest was acquired;

  • (c) is the secured party under another security notice registered under this Part in relation to that interest or share;

  • (d) is a member of a class of persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection; or

  • (e) obtains leave to do so from a court having jurisdiction in respect of the frontier lands subject to that interest or share.

• Marginal note:Contents of demand notice

  (2) A demand for information, in respect of a security notice, may be served pursuant to subsection (1) by serving on the secured party under the security notice a demand notice, in prescribed form, requiring the secured party

  • (a) to inform the person serving the demand notice, within fifteen days after service of the notice, of the place where the documents specified in the security notice or copies thereof are located and available for examination, and of the normal business hours during which the examination may be made; and

  • (b) to make those documents or copies thereof available for examination at that place during normal business hours, by the person serving the notice or by a person authorized by him, within a reasonable period after the demand notice is served.

• Marginal note:Service

  (3) A demand for information is served for the purposes of this section if it is sent by registered mail or delivered to the official address for service in respect of the security notice according to the records of the Registrar.

• Marginal note:Compliance with demand

  (4) A demand for information served pursuant to subsection (1) may be complied with by mailing or delivering to the person serving the demand notice a true copy of the documents referred to in the demand notice.

• Marginal note:Court order where failure to comply

  (5) Where a secured party fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a demand for information in respect of a security notice in relation to an interest or share therein served on the secured party in accordance with this section, a court having jurisdiction in respect of the frontier lands to which the interest or share applies may, on application by the person who served the demand notice, make an order requiring the secured party to comply with the demand for information within the time and in the manner specified in the order.

• Marginal note:Where failure to comply with court order

  (6) Where a secured party fails to comply with an order of a court made under subsection (5), the court may, on the application of the person who applied for the order,

  • (a) make any other order the court considers necessary to ensure compliance with the order made under subsection (5); or

  • (b) make an order directing the Registrar to cancel the registration of the security notice.

• Marginal note:Definition of “document”

  (7) In this section, document includes any amendment to the document.

Marginal note:Notice to take proceedings

• 96 (1) A person who may serve a demand for information in respect of a security notice in relation to an interest or a share therein pursuant to subsection 95(1) may

  • (a) serve on the secured party under the security notice a notice to take proceedings, in prescribed form, directing that secured party to apply to a court having jurisdiction in respect of the frontier lands to which the interest or share applies, within sixty days after the day on which the notice to take proceedings is served, for an order substantiating the security interest claimed in the security notice; or

  • (b) commence proceedings in the court, requiring the secured party to show cause why the registration of the security notice should not be cancelled.

• Marginal note:Order to shorten notice to take proceedings

  (2) The court may, by order, on the ex parte application of a person who proposes to serve a notice to take proceedings under subsection (1), shorten the sixty day period referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and, if the order is made,

  • (a) paragraph (1)(a) shall, in relation to that notice to take proceedings, be deemed to refer to the shorter period; and

  • (b) a certified copy of the order shall be served with that notice to take proceedings.

• Marginal note:Order to extend notice to take proceedings

  (3) The court may, on the application of a secured party served with a notice to take proceedings, extend the period for applying to the court referred to in paragraph (1)(a), whether or not that period has been shortened under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Service

  (4) A notice to take proceedings is served for the purposes of this section if it is sent by registered mail or delivered to the secured party at the official address for service in respect of the security notice according to the records of the Registrar.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of registration of security notice

  (5) The registration of a security notice shall be cancelled on submission to the Registrar of a statutory declaration showing that

  • (a) a notice to take proceedings was served in accordance with this section; and

  • (b) no application was commenced in accordance with the notice to take proceedings or within the period extended pursuant to subsection (3) or an application so made was dismissed by the court or discontinued.

• Marginal note:No further registration after cancellation

  (6) Where the registration of a security notice in respect of a security interest is cancelled pursuant to subsection (5) or (7), the secured party under the security notice may not submit for registration under this Part another security notice in respect of that security interest without leave of the court to do so.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of registration on order of court

  (7) The registration of a security notice shall be cancelled where there is submitted to the Registrar a certified copy of an order or judgment of a court directing the Registrar to do so, whether as a result of proceedings taken under this Part or otherwise.

Marginal note:Transfer effective on registration

97 A transfer of an interest or a share therein is not effective against the Crown prior to the registration of the transfer.

Marginal note:No restriction on rights of Minister or Her Majesty

98 For greater certainty, the registration of an instrument

• (a) does not restrict or in any manner affect any right or power of the Minister under this Act, the regulations or the terms of any interest; and

• (b) does not derogate from any proprietary right or any right to dispose of or exploit natural resources that Her Majesty in right of Canada has in respect of frontier lands.

Marginal note:No action for acts done in performance of official functions

99 No action or other proceedings for damages shall be commenced against the Registrar or Deputy Registrar or anyone acting under the authority of the Registrar or Deputy Registrar for an act done or omission in good faith in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty under this Part.

Marginal note:Regulations

100 The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

• (a) prescribing the powers, duties and functions of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar for the purposes of this Part and the time when, and manner and circumstances in which, they are to be exercised, and providing for the designation by the Minister of any person or class of persons to exercise such powers and perform such duties and functions as may be specified in the regulations;

• (b) governing the books, abstracts and indexes to be maintained as the register for the purposes of this Part and the particulars of interests, instruments and frontier lands and the orders and declarations made in relation to interests to be recorded therein;

• (c) governing the filing of copies of interests, registered instruments and other documents in the register established under this Part;

• (d) governing public access to and searches of the register;

• (e) prescribing, for the purposes of this Part, courts having jurisdiction in respect of frontier lands or any portion thereof;

• (f) governing the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction of any court prescribed pursuant to paragraph (e);

• (g) prescribing fees for the registration of instruments, making copies and certified copies of documents, searches and any other services specified in the regulations for the purposes of this Part, and requiring such fees to be paid for such services; and

• (h) prescribing any other matter or thing that is by this Part to be prescribed.

PART IXAdministration and Enforcement

Disclosure of Information

Marginal note:Definitions

• 101 (1) In this section,

  delineation well

  delineation well means a well that is so located in relation to another well penetrating an accumulation of petroleum that there is a reasonable expectation that another portion of that accumulation will be penetrated by the first-mentioned well and that the drilling is necessary in order to determine the commercial value of the accumulation; (puits de délimitation)

  development well

  development well means a well that is so located in relation to another well penetrating an accumulation of petroleum that it is considered to be a well or part of a well drilled for the purpose of production or observation or for the injection or disposal of fluid into or from the accumulation; (puits d’exploitation)

  engineering research or feasibility study

  engineering research or feasibility study includes work undertaken to facilitate the design or to analyse the viability of engineering technology, systems or schemes to be used in the exploration for or the development, production or transportation of petroleum on frontier lands; (recherches ou études techniques)

  environmental study

  environmental study means work pertaining to the measurement or statistical evaluation of the physical, chemical and biological elements of the lands, oceans or coastal zones, including winds, waves, tides, currents, precipitation, ice cover and movement, icebergs, pollution effects, flora and fauna both onshore and offshore, human activity and habitation and any related matters; (études de l’environnement)

  experimental project

  experimental project means work or activity involving the utilization of methods or equipment that are untried or unproven; (opération expérimentale)

  exploratory well

  exploratory well means a well drilled on a geological feature on which a significant discovery has not been made; (puits d’exploration)

  geological work

  geological work means work, in the field or laboratory, involving the collection, examination, processing or other analysis of lithological, paleontological or geochemical materials recovered from the surface or subsurface or the seabed or its subsoil of any frontier lands and includes the analysis and interpretation of mechanical well logs; (travaux de géologie)

  geophysical work

  geophysical work means work involving the indirect measurement of the physical properties of rocks in order to determine the depth, thickness, structural configuration or history of deposition thereof and includes the processing, analysis and interpretation of material or data obtained from such work; (travaux de géophysique)

  geotechnical work

  geotechnical work means work, in the field or laboratory, undertaken to determine the physical properties of materials recovered from the surface or subsurface or the seabed or its subsoil of any frontier lands; (travaux de géotechnique)

  well site seabed survey

  well site seabed survey means a survey pertaining to the nature of the surface or subsurface or the seabed or its subsoil of any frontier lands in the area of the proposed drilling site in respect of a well and to the conditions of those lands that may affect the safety or efficiency of drilling operations; (levé marin)

  well termination date

  well termination date means the date on which a well has been abandoned, completed or suspended in accordance with any applicable regulations respecting the drilling for petroleum made under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act. (date d’abandon du puits)

• Marginal note:Privileged information or documentation

  (2) Subject to this section, information or documentation is privileged if it is provided for the purposes of this Act or the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, other than Part 0.1 of that Act, or any regulation made under either Act, or for the purposes of Part 8 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, whether or not the information or documentation is required to be provided.

• Marginal note:Disclosure

  (2.1) Subject to this section, information or documentation that is privileged under subsection (2) shall not knowingly be disclosed without the consent in writing of the person who provided it, except for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act or Part 8 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act or for the purposes of legal proceedings relating to its administration or enforcement.

• Marginal note:Production and evidence

  (3) No person shall be required to produce or give evidence relating to any information or documentation that is privileged under subsection (2) in connection with any legal proceedings, other than proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act or Part 8 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act.

• Marginal note:Registration of documents

  (4) For greater certainty, this section does not apply to a document that has been registered under Part VIII.

• Marginal note:Disclosure pursuant to resource management and revenue sharing agreements

  (5) Information or documentation that is privileged under subsection (2) may be disclosed to any government of a province or to any organization representing any aboriginal people of Canada, where such disclosure is made pursuant to an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of that province or that organization respecting resource management and revenue sharing in relation to activities respecting the exploration for or the production of petroleum carried out on any frontier lands.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (6) The recipient of information or documentation disclosed pursuant to an agreement referred to in subsection (5) shall not disclose that information or documentation except as otherwise provided in this section.

• Marginal note:Disclosure — governments and agencies

  (6.1) The Canadian Energy Regulator may disclose any information or documentation that it obtains under this Act or the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act — to officials of the Government of Canada, the government of a province or a foreign government or to the representatives of any of their agencies — for the purposes of a federal, provincial or foreign law, as the case may be, that deals primarily with a petroleum-related work or activity, including the exploration for and the management, administration and exploitation of petroleum resources, if

  • (a) the government or agency undertakes to keep the information or documentation confidential and not to disclose it without the Regulator’s written consent;

  • (b) the information or documentation is disclosed in accordance with any conditions agreed to by the Regulator and the government or agency; and

  • (c) in the case of disclosure to a foreign government or agency, the Minister consents in writing.

• Marginal note:Disclosure — Minister

  (6.2) The Canadian Energy Regulator may disclose to the Minister the information or documentation that it has disclosed or intends to disclose under subsection (6.1), but the Minister is not to further disclose that information or documentation unless the Regulator consents in writing to that disclosure or the Minister is required by an Act of Parliament to disclose that information or documentation.

• Marginal note:Consent

  (6.3) For the purposes of paragraph (6.1)(a) and subsection (6.2), the Canadian Energy Regulator may consent to the further disclosure of information or documentation only if the Regulator itself is authorized under this section to disclose it.

• Marginal note:Information that may be disclosed

  (7) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of the following classes of information or documentation obtained as a result of carrying on a work or activity that is authorized under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, namely, information or documentation in respect of

  • (a) an exploratory well, where the information or documentation is obtained as a direct result of drilling the well and if two years have passed since the well termination date of that well;

  • (b) a delineation well, where the information or documentation is obtained as a direct result of drilling the well and if the later of

    • (i) two years since the well termination date of the relevant exploratory well, and

    • (ii) ninety days since the well termination date of the delineation well,

    have passed;

  • (c) a development well, where the information or documentation is obtained as a direct result of drilling the well and if the later of

    • (i) two years since the well termination date of the relevant exploratory well, and

    • (ii) sixty days since the well termination date of the development well,

    have passed;

  • (d) geological work or geophysical work performed on or in relation to any frontier lands,

    • (i) in the case of a well site seabed survey where the well has been drilled, after the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (a) or the later period referred to in subparagraph (b)(i) or (ii) or (c)(i) or (ii), according to whether paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is applicable in respect of that well, or

    • (ii) in any other case, after the expiration of five years following the date of completion of the work;

  • (e) any engineering research or feasibility study or experimental project, including geotechnical work, carried out on or in relation to any frontier lands,

    • (i) where it relates to a well and the well has been drilled, after the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (a) or the later period referred to in subparagraph (b)(i) or (ii) or (c)(i) or (ii), according to whether paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is applicable in respect of that well, or

    • (ii) in any other case, after the expiration of five years following the date of completion of the research, study or project or after the reversion of the lands to Crown reserve lands, whichever occurs first;

  • (f) any contingency plan formulated in respect of emergencies arising as a result of any work or activity authorized under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act;

  • (g) diving work, weather observations or the status of operational activities or of the development of or production from a pool or field;

  • (g.1) accidents, incidents or petroleum spills, to the extent necessary to permit a person or body to produce and to distribute or publish a report for the administration of this Act, or of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, in respect of the accident, incident or spill;

  • (h) any study funded from an account established under subsection 76(1), if the study has been completed; and

  • (i) an environmental study, other than a study referred to in paragraph (h),

    • (i) where it relates to a well and the well has been drilled, after the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (a) or the later period referred to in subparagraph (b)(i) or (ii) or (c)(i) or (ii), according to whether paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is applicable in respect of that well, or

    • (ii) in any other case, if five years have passed since the completion of the study.

• Marginal note:Applicant and proposed work or activity

  (8) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information regarding the applicant for an operating licence or authorization under subsection 5(1) of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, or the scope, purpose, location, timing and nature of the proposed work or activity for which the authorization is sought.

• Marginal note:Public hearing

  (9) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information or documentation provided for the purposes of a public hearing conducted under section 5.331 of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act.

• Marginal note:Safety or environmental protection

  (10) Subject to section 101.1, the Commission of the Canadian Energy Regulator or a person designated under section 4.1 of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act may disclose all or part of any information or documentation related to safety or environmental protection that is provided in relation to an application for an operating licence or authorization under subsection 5(1) of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act or to an operating licence or authorization that is issued under that subsection or provided in accordance with any regulation made under that Act. The Commission or person is not, however, permitted to disclose information or documentation if they are satisfied that

  • (a) disclosure of it could reasonably be expected to result in a material loss or gain to a person, or to prejudice their competitive position, and the potential harm resulting from the disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the disclosure;

  • (b) it is financial, commercial, scientific or technical information or documentation that is confidential and has been consistently treated as such by a person who would be directly affected by its disclosure, and for which the person’s interest in confidentiality outweighs the public interest in its disclosure; or

  • (c) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of it will impair the security of pipelines, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, buildings, installations, vessels, vehicles, aircraft or systems, including computer or communication systems, used for any work or activity in respect of which that Act applies — or methods employed to protect them — and the need to prevent its disclosure outweighs the public interest in its disclosure.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (11) Subsections (8) to (10) do not apply in respect of the classes of information or documentation described in paragraphs (7)(a) to (e) and (i).