Canada Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations (SOR/2009-315)

Management System

18 The operator shall ensure compliance with the management system referred to in section 5.

Safety and Environmental Protection

19 The operator shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure safety and environmental protection, including ensuring that

• (a) any operation necessary for the safety of persons at an installation or on a support craft has priority, at all times, over any work or activity at that installation or on that support craft;

• (b) safe work methods are followed during all drilling, well or production operations;

• (c) there is a shift handover system to effectively communicate any conditions, mechanical or procedural deficiencies or other problems that might have an impact on safety or environmental protection;

• (d) differences in language or other barriers to effective communication do not jeopardize safety or environmental protection;

• (e) all persons at an installation, or in transit to or from an installation, receive instruction in and are familiar with safety and evacuation procedures and with their roles and responsibilities in the contingency plans, including emergency response procedures;

• (f) any drilling or well operation is conducted in a manner that maintains full control of the well at all times;

• (g) if there is loss of control of a well at an installation, all other wells at that installation are shut in until the well that is out of control is secured;

• (h) plans are in place to deal with potential hazards;

• (i) all equipment required for safety and environmental protection is available and in an operable condition;

• (j) the inventory of all equipment identified in the safety plan and the environmental protection plan is updated after the completion of any significant modification or repair to any major component of the equipment;

• (k) the administrative and logistical support that is provided for drilling, well or production operations includes accommodation, transportation, first aid and storage, repair facilities and communication systems suitable for the area of operations;

• (l) a sufficient number of trained and competent individuals are available to complete the authorized work or activities and to carry out any work or activity safely and without pollution; and

• (m) any operational procedure that is a hazard to safety or the environment is corrected and all affected persons are informed of the alteration.

• 20 (1) No person shall tamper with, activate without cause, or misuse any safety or environmental protection equipment.

• (2) A passenger on a helicopter, supply vessel or any other support craft engaged in a drilling program or production project shall comply with all applicable safety instructions.

• 21 (1) No person shall smoke on an installation except in those areas set aside by the operator for that use.

• (2) The operator shall ensure compliance with subsection (1).

Storing and Handling of Consumables

22 The operator shall ensure that fuel, potable water, spill containment products, safety-related chemicals, drilling fluids, cement and other consumables are

• (a) readily available and stored on an installation in quantities sufficient for any normal and reasonably foreseeable emergency condition; and

• (b) stored and handled in a manner that minimizes their deterioration, ensures safety and prevents pollution.

Handling of Chemical Substances, Waste Material and Oil

23 The operator shall ensure that all chemical substances, including process fluids and diesel fuel, waste material, drilling fluid and drill cuttings generated at an installation, are handled in a way that does not create a hazard to safety or the environment.

Cessation of a Work or Activity

• 24 (1) The operator shall ensure that any work or activity ceases without delay if that work or activity

  • (a) endangers or is likely to endanger the safety of persons;

  • (b) endangers or is likely to endanger the safety or integrity of the well or the installation; or

  • (c) causes or is likely to cause pollution.

• (2) If the work or activity ceases, the operator shall ensure that it does not resume until it can do so safely and without pollution.

PART 4Equipment and Operations

Wells, Installations, Equipment, Facilities and Support Craft

25 The operator shall ensure that

• (a) all wells, installations, equipment and facilities are designed, constructed, tested, maintained and operated to prevent incidents and waste under the maximum load conditions that may be reasonably anticipated during any operation;

• (b) a comprehensive inspection that includes a non-destructive examination of critical joints and structural members of an installation and any critical drilling or production equipment is made at an interval to ensure continued safe operation of the installation or equipment and in any case, at least once in every five-year period; and

• (c) records of maintenance, tests and inspections are kept.

26 The operator shall ensure that

• (a) the components of an installation and well tubulars, Christmas trees and wellheads are operated in accordance with good engineering practices; and

• (b) any part of an installation that may be exposed to a sour environment is designed, constructed and maintained to operate safely in that environment.

• 27 (1) The operator shall ensure that any defect in the installation, equipment, facilities and support craft that may be a hazard to safety or the environment is rectified without delay.

• (2) If it is not possible to rectify the defect without delay, the operator shall ensure that it is rectified as soon as the circumstances permit and that mitigation measures are put in place to minimize the hazards while the defect is being rectified.

Drilling Fluid System

28 The operator shall ensure that

• (a) the drilling fluid system and associated monitoring equipment is designed, installed, operated and maintained to provide an effective barrier against formation pressure, to allow for proper well evaluation, to ensure safe drilling operations and to prevent pollution; and

• (b) the indicators and alarms associated with the monitoring equipment are strategically located on the drilling rig to alert onsite personnel.

Marine Riser

• 29 (1) The operator shall ensure that every marine riser is capable of

  • (a) furnishing access to the well;

  • (b) isolating the well-bore from the sea;

  • (c) withstanding the differential pressure of the drilling fluid relative to the sea;

  • (d) withstanding the physical forces anticipated in the drilling program; and

  • (e) permitting the drilling fluid to be returned to the installation.

• (2) The operator shall ensure that every marine riser is supported in a manner that effectively compensates for the forces caused by the motion of the installation.

Drilling Practices

30 The operator shall ensure that adequate equipment, procedures and personnel are in place to recognize and control normal and abnormal pressures, to allow for safe, controlled drilling operations and to prevent pollution.

Reference for Well Depths

31 The operator shall ensure that any depth in a well is measured from a single reference point, which is either the kelly bushing or the rotary table of the drilling rig.

Directional and Deviation Surveys

32 The operator shall ensure that

• (a) directional and deviation surveys are taken at intervals that allow the position of the well-bore to be determined accurately; and

• (b) except in the case of a relief well, a well is drilled in a manner that does not intersect an existing well.

Formation Leak-Off Test

33 The operator shall ensure that

• (a) a formation leak-off test or a formation integrity test is conducted before drilling more than 10 m below the shoe of any casing other than the conductor casing;

• (b) the formation leak-off test or the formation integrity test is conducted to a pressure that allows for safe drilling to the next planned casing depth; and

• (c) a record is retained of each formation leak-off test and the results included in the daily drilling report referred to in paragraph 83(a) and in the well history report referred to in section 88.

Formation Flow and Well Testing Equipment

• 34 (1) The operator shall ensure that

  • (a) the equipment used in a formation flow test is designed to safely control well pressure, properly evaluate the formation and prevent pollution;

  • (b) the rated working pressure of formation flow test equipment upstream of and including the well testing manifold exceeds the maximum anticipated shut-in pressure; and

  • (c) the equipment downstream of the well testing manifold is sufficiently protected against overpressure.

• (2) The operator of an offshore well or a well in a sour environment shall ensure that the formation flow test equipment includes a down-hole safety valve that permits closure of the test string above the packer.

• (3) The operator shall ensure that any formation flow test equipment used in testing an offshore well that is drilled with a floating drilling unit has a subsea test tree that includes

  • (a) a valve that may be operated from the surface and automatically closes when required to prevent uncontrolled well flow; and

  • (b) a release system that permits the test string to be hydraulically or mechanically disconnected within or below the blow-out preventers.

Well Control

35 The operator shall ensure that adequate procedures, materials and equipment are in place and utilized to minimize the risk of loss of well control in the event of lost circulation.

• 36 (1) The operator shall ensure that, during all well operations, reliably operating well control equipment is installed to control kicks, prevent blow-outs and safely carry out all well activities and operations, including drilling, completion and workover operations.

• (2) After setting the surface casing, the operator shall ensure that at least two independent and tested well barriers are in place during all well operations.

• (3) If a barrier fails, the operator shall ensure that no other activities, other than those intended to restore or replace the barrier, take place in the well.

• (4) The operator shall ensure that, during drilling, except when drilling under-balanced, one of the two barriers to be maintained is the drilling fluid column.

37 The operator shall ensure that pressure control equipment associated with drilling, coil tubing, slick line and wire line operations is pressure-tested on installation and as often as necessary to ensure its continued safe operation.

38 If the well control is lost or if safety, environmental protection or resource conservation is at risk, the operator shall ensure that any action necessary to rectify the situation is taken without delay, despite any condition to the contrary in the well approval.

Casing and Cementing

39 The operator shall ensure that the well and casing are designed so that

• (a) the well can be drilled safely, the targeted formations evaluated and waste prevented;

• (b) the anticipated conditions, forces and stresses that may be placed upon them are withstood; and

• (c) the integrity of gas hydrate and permafrost zones — and, in the case of an onshore well, potable water zones — is protected.

40 The operator shall ensure that the well and casing are installed at a depth that provides for adequate kick tolerances and well control operations that provide for safe, constant bottom hole pressure.

41 The operator shall ensure that cement slurry is designed and installed so that

• (a) the movement of formation fluids in the casing annuli is prevented and, where required for safety, resource evaluation or prevention of waste, the isolation of the oil, gas and water zones is ensured;

• (b) support for the casing is provided;

• (c) corrosion of the casing over the cemented interval is retarded; and

• (d) the integrity of gas hydrate and permafrost zones — and, in the case of an onshore well, potable water zones — is protected.

Waiting on Cement Time

42 After the cementing of any casing or casing liner and before drilling out the casing shoe, the operator shall ensure that the cement has reached the minimum compressive strength sufficient to support the casing and provide zonal isolation.

Casing Pressure Testing

43 After installing and cementing the casing and before drilling out the casing shoe, the operator shall ensure that the casing is pressure-tested to the value required to confirm its integrity for maximum anticipated operating pressure.