Canada Oil and Gas Installations Regulations (SOR/96-118)

General Alarm System

• 34 (1) Every installation shall be equipped with a general alarm system that is capable of alerting personnel to any hazardous conditions other than fire or gas that might

  • (a) endanger the personnel;

  • (b) endanger the installation; or

  • (c) be harmful to the environment.

• (2) Every general alarm system referred to in subsection (1) shall be

  • (a) operational and in operation at all times other than when the system is being inspected, maintained or repaired;

  • (b) where applicable, flagged as being subject to inspection, maintenance or repair; and

  • (c) designed in such a manner as to prevent tampering.

• (3) Where a general alarm system for an installation is being inspected, maintained or repaired, the operator of the installation shall ensure that the functions that the system performs are performed manually.

Piping Systems

• 35 (1) The piping system and associated equipment of every installation shall be designed and installed in accordance with American Petroleum Institute RP 14E, Recommended Practice for Design and Installation of Offshore Production Platform Piping Systems.

• (2) Every pressure vessel or fired vessel on a production installation shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the following standards:

  • (a) American Petroleum Institute Spec 12J, Specification for Oil and Gas Separators;

  • (b) sections I, II, IV, V, VII, VIII and IX of American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code; and

  • (c) Canadian Standards Association B51-M1991, Boiler, Pressure Vessel, and Pressure Piping Code.

• (3) Every compressor in hydrocarbon service at a production installation shall be designed in accordance with the following standards:

  • (a) Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-Z184-M92, Gas Pipeline Systems;

  • (b) American Petroleum Institute STD 617, Centrifugal Compressors for General Refinery Service;

  • (c) American Petroleum Institute STD 618, Reciprocating Compressors for General Refinery Services; and

  • (d) American Petroleum Institute STD 619, Rotary-Type Positive Displacement Compressors for General Refinery Services.

• (4) All materials and procedures used in a production installation used to produce and process sour gas shall conform to National Association of Corrosion Engineers (U.S.) MR-01-75, Sulfide Stress Cracking Resistant Metallic Materials for Oil Field Equipment.

• (5) Where an operator handles, treats or processes oil, gas or water that contains hydrogen sulphide, the operator shall do so in accordance with good industry practice to minimize the discharge of hydrogen sulphide into the environment and to ensure that the operation is carried out in a safe and efficient manner.

Communication Systems

• 36 (1) No person shall operate a manned installation unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) a radio or telephone communication system; and

  • (b) an emergency communications system.

• (2) The communication systems referred to in subsection (1) shall be operational at all times.

• (3) No person shall operate a manned offshore installation unless the offshore installation is equipped with a two-way radio communication system that

  • (a) enables effective communication by radio to be maintained between the installation and helicopters, the shore base, support vessels, standby vessels, search and rescue aircraft, and other nearby offshore installations; and

  • (b) enables effective communication with marine traffic in the vicinity.

• (4) The operator of a manned offshore installation shall ensure that the radio communication systems comply with the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020 as if the installation were a ship to which those Regulations apply.

• (5) Each installation shall comply with the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020 as if the installation were a ship to which those Regulations apply.

• (6) No person shall operate a manned installation unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) an internal telephone system;

  • (b) a public address system with loudspeakers located so that a voice transmission can be heard throughout the installation; and

  • (c) a means of transmitting written data to the shore base of the installation.

• (7) No person shall operate an installation that is usually unmanned unless the installation is equipped with

  • (a) an operational two-way radio communication system during any period when the installation is manned; and

  • (b) a system capable of detecting under ambient conditions any hazardous conditions that could endanger the safety of the installation or damage the environment and of alerting the control station about the hazardous conditions.

PART IIAnalysis and Design

General Design Considerations

• 37 (1) Every installation and every component of an installation shall be designed in accordance with good engineering practice, taking into account

  • (a) the nature of the activities on and around the installation;

  • (b) the type and magnitude of functional loads, environmental loads, and foreseeable accidental loads;

  • (c) operating and ambient temperatures;

  • (d) corrosion conditions that may be encountered during the construction, operation and maintenance of the installation;

  • (e) the avoidance of damage to any part of the installation that may lead to the progressive collapse of the whole installation; and

  • (f) soil conditions.

• (2) The design of an installation shall be based on such analyses or model tests of the installation, including simulations to the extent practicable, as are necessary to permit the determination of the behaviour of the installation and of the soils that support the installation or anchoring systems, under all foreseeable transportation, installation and operating conditions.

Design of Offshore Installations

38 Every offshore installation shall be designed in accordance with the

• (a) section 4 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S471-92, General Requirements, Design Criteria, the Environment, and Loads;

• (b) for the foundation, section 5 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures;

• (c) for a steel platform, section 7 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (d) for a concrete platform, sections 3 and 7 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures; and

• (e) in respect of its transportation and installation, sections 5, 6 and 7 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S475-M1989, Sea Operations.

Design of Offshore Platforms

39 Every offshore platform shall be designed in accordance with

• (a) for composite ice-resisting walls, section 13 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (b) for the foundation, section 5 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures;

• (c) for a steel platform, sections 9, 10, 11, 12 and 16 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures;

• (d) for a concrete platform, sections 8, 9, 10 and 12 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures; and

• (e) for a gravity base, fill, fill-retention or piled platform, section 6, 7, 8 or 9 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S472-92, Foundations, Offshore Structures, as applicable.

Design of Onshore Installations

40 Onshore installations shall be designed in accordance with the National Building Code of Canada and the National Fire Code, issued by the National Research Council of Canada.

Offshore Analyses

• 41 (1) Analyses undertaken in respect of an offshore installation for the purposes of subsection 37(2) shall cover all relevant structural elements of the offshore installation, shall be based on good engineering practice and shall include a

  • (a) structural analysis;

  • (b) fatigue analysis;

  • (c) structural element stability analysis;

  • (d) overall installation stability analysis;

  • (e) for a mobile offshore platform, intact and damage stability analysis; and

  • (f) hydrodynamic analysis.

• (2) Analyses undertaken in respect of an offshore platform for the purposes of subsection 37(2) shall be carried out in accordance with

  • (a) section 4.6.7 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S471-92, General Requirements, Design Criteria, the Environment, and Loads;

  • (b) for a steel platform, section 8 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures; and

  • (c) for a concrete platform, sections 8 and 9 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures.

• (3) A fatigue analysis undertaken in respect of an offshore platform for the purpose of subsection 37(2) shall be carried out in accordance with

  • (a) for a steel platform, section 14 of Canadian Standards Association CAN/CSA-S473-92, Steel Structures, Offshore Structures; and

  • (b) for a concrete platform, section 8.5 of Canadian Standards Association Preliminary Standard S474-M1989, Concrete Structures.

• (4) The foundation of major machinery and equipment on an offshore installation shall be analysed to determine if the resulting deflection, stresses and vibration are within the limits of the structural design criteria for the equipment.

Innovations for Offshore Installations

42 The design of an offshore installation shall not involve the use of any design method, material, joining technique, or construction technique that has not previously been used in comparable situations, unless

• (a) there have been engineering studies or prototype or model tests that demonstrate the adequacy of the method, material or technique; and

• (b) the operator implements a performance monitoring and inspection program that is designed to permit the determination of the correctness of the method, material or technique.

Removal and Abandonment of Fixed Offshore Production Installations

43 Where the removal of a fixed offshore production installation is a condition of a development plan approval, the operator shall incorporate in the design of the installation such measures as are necessary to facilitate its removal from the site without causing a significant effect on navigation or the marine environment.

Concept Safety Analysis for Offshore Production Installations

• 44 (1) Every operator shall, at the time the operator applies for a development plan approval in respect of an offshore production installation, submit to the Chief a concept safety analysis of the offshore production installation in accordance with subsection (5), that considers all components and all activities associated with each phase in the life of the production installation, including the construction, installation, operation and removal phases.

• (2) The concept safety analysis referred to in subsection (1) shall

  • (a) be planned and conducted in such a manner that the results form part of the basis for decisions that affect the level of safety for all activities associated with each phase in the life of the production installation; and

  • (b) take into consideration the quality assurance program selected in accordance with section 4.

• (3) Target levels of safety for the risk to life and the risk of damage to the environment associated with all activities within each phase of the life of the production installation shall be defined and shall be submitted to the Chief at the time the operator applies for a development plan approval.

• (4) The target levels of safety referred to in subsection (3) shall be based on assessments that are

  • (a) quantitative, where it can be demonstrated that input data are available in the quantity and of the quality necessary to demonstrate the reliability of the results; and

  • (b) qualitative, where quantitative assessment methods are inappropriate or not suitable.

• (5) The concept safety analysis referred to in subsection (1) shall include

  • (a) for each potential accident, a determination of the probability or susceptibility of its occurrence and its potential consequences without taking into account the plans and measures described in paragraphs (b) to (d);

  • (b) for each potential accident, contingency plans designed to avoid the occurrence of, mitigate or withstand the accident;

  • (c) for each potential accident, personnel safety measures designed to

    • (i) protect, from risk to life, all personnel outside the immediate vicinity of the accident site,

    • (ii) provide for the safe and organized evacuation of all personnel from the production installation, where the accident could lead to an uncontrollable situation,

    • (iii) provide for a safe location for personnel until evacuation procedures can be implemented, where the accident could lead to an uncontrollable situation, and

    • (iv) ensure that the control station, communications facilities or alarm facilities directly involved in the response to the accident remain operational throughout the time that personnel are at risk;

  • (d) for each potential accident, appropriate measures designed to minimize the risk of damage to the environment;

  • (e) for each potential accident, an assessment of the determination referred to in paragraph (a) and of the implementation of the plans and measures described in paragraphs (b) to (d);

  • (f) a determination of the effects of any potential additional risks resulting from the implementation of the plans and measures described in paragraphs (b) to (d); and

  • (g) a definition of the situations and conditions and of the changes in operating procedures and practices that would necessitate an update of the concept safety analysis.

• (6) The determinations and assessments required by paragraphs (5)(a) and (e), respectively, shall be

  • (a) quantitative, where it can be demonstrated that input data is available in the quantity and of the quality necessary to demonstrate reliability of the results; and

  • (b) qualitative, where quantitative assessment methods are inappropriate or not suitable.

• (7) The plans and measures identified in paragraphs (5)(b) to (d) shall be designed to ensure that the target levels of safety as defined pursuant to subsection (3) are met.

• (8) The operator shall maintain and update the concept safety analysis referred to in subsection (1) in accordance with the definition of situations, conditions and changes referred to in paragraph (5)(g) to reflect operational experience, changes in activity or advances in technology.