Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act (S.C. 1988, c. 28)

DIVISION IXAdministration and Enforcement

Disclosure of Information

Marginal note:Definitions

• 122 (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 offshore area, in the exploration for or the development, production or transportation of petroleum or in offshore renewable energy projects; (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 portion of the offshore area 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 portion of the offshore area; (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 portion of the offshore area in the area of the proposed drilling site in respect of a well and to the conditions of those portions of the offshore area 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 Part III. (date d’abandon du puits)

• Marginal note:Privilege

  (2) Subject to section 19 and this section, information or documentation provided for the purposes of this Part or Part III or any regulation made under either Part, whether or not such information or documentation is required to be provided under either Part or any regulation made thereunder, is privileged and 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 either Part or for the purposes of legal proceedings relating to such administration or enforcement.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (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 Part or Part III.

• Marginal note:Registration of documents

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

• Marginal note:Information that may be disclosed

  (5) Subsection (2) does not apply to the following classes of information or documentation obtained as a result of carrying on a work or activity that is authorized under Part III, 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 portion of the offshore area,

    • (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,

    • (ii) in any other case relating to a petroleum-related work or activity, after the end of five years following the date of completion of the geological or geophysical work, or

    • (iii) in any case relating to an offshore renewable energy project, after the end of the time set out by regulations or, in the absence of regulations, three years following the date of completion of the geological or geophysical work;

  • (e) any engineering research or feasibility study or experimental project, including geotechnical work, carried out on or in relation to any portion of the offshore area,

    • (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,

    • (ii) in any other case relating to a petroleum-related work or activity, after the end of five years following the date of completion of the research, study or experimental project or after the reversion of that portion of the offshore area to Crown reserve areas, whichever occurs first, or

    • (iii) in any case relating to an offshore renewable energy project, after the earlier of:

      • (A) the end of the period set out by regulations or, in the absence of regulations, three years following the date of completion of the research, study or experimental project, and

      • (B) the reversion of that portion of the offshore area to Crown reserve areas;

  • (f) any contingency plan formulated in respect of emergencies arising as a result of any work or activity authorized under Part III;

  • (g) diving work, weather observation 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 in respect of the accident, incident or spill;

  • (h) any study funded from an account established under subsection 76(1) of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, 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,

    • (ii) in any other case relating to a petroleum-related work or activity, if five years have passed since the completion of the study, or

    • (iii) in any case relating to an offshore renewable energy project, if the period set out by regulations has passed or, in the absence of regulations, if three years have passed since the completion of that study.

• Marginal note:Disclosure — governments and agencies

  (6) The Regulator may disclose any information or documentation that it obtains under this Part or Part III — to officials of the Government of Canada, the Government of the Province or any other provincial government, 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, or with an offshore renewable energy project, 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 and 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 Federal Minister and Provincial Minister consent in writing.

• Marginal note:Disclosure — Minister

  (7) The Regulator may disclose to the Federal Minister and Provincial Minister the information or documentation that it has disclosed or intends to disclose under subsection (6), but the Federal Minister and the Provincial Minister are not to further disclose that information or documentation unless the Regulator consents in writing to that disclosure or the Federal Minister or the Provincial Minister is required by an Act of Parliament or an Act of the Legislature of the Province, as the case may be, to disclose that information or documentation.

• Marginal note:Consent

  (8) For the purposes of paragraph (6)(a) and subsection (7), the 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:Applicant and proposed work or activity

  (9) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information regarding the applicant for an operating licence or authorization under subsection 142(1) or authorization under subsection 142.011(1) or in respect of the scope, purpose, location, timing and nature of the proposed work or activity for which the authorization is sought.

• Marginal note:Public notice

  (9.1) The Regulator shall make public a summary of the information referred to in subsection (9) in respect of a work or activity for which the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada decided under section 16 of the Impact Assessment Act that an impact assessment is not required or which is excluded under section 112.1 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Public hearing

  (10) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of information or documentation provided for the purposes of a public hearing conducted under section 44.1.

• Marginal note:Safety or environmental protection

  (11) Subject to section 122.1, the Regulator may disclose, including for the purposes of the Impact Assessment Act, 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 142(1) or authorization under subsection 142.011(1) or to an operating licence or authorization that is issued under one of those subsections or provided in accordance with any regulation made under this Part or Part III. The Regulator is not, however, permitted to disclose information or documentation if it is 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 138, installations, facilities, vessels, aircraft or systems, including computer or communication systems, used for any work or activity in respect of which this 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

  (12) Subsections (9) to (11) do not apply in respect of information or documentation described in paragraphs (5)(a) to (e) and (i).

Marginal note:Notice — subsection 122(11)

• 122.1 (1) If the Regulator intends to disclose any information or documentation under subsection 122(11), the Regulator shall make every reasonable effort to give the person who provided it written notice of the Regulator’s intention to disclose it.

• Marginal note:Waiver of notice

  (2) Any person to whom a notice is required to be given under subsection (1) may waive the requirement, and if they have consented to the disclosure they are deemed to have waived the requirement.

• Marginal note:Contents of notice

  (3) A notice given under subsection (1) shall include

  • (a) a statement that the Regulator intends to disclose information or documentation under subsection 122(11);

  • (b) a description of the information or documentation that was provided by the person to whom the notice is given; and

  • (c) a statement that the person may, within 20 days after the day on which the notice is given, make written representations to the Regulator as to why the information or documentation, or a portion of it, should not be disclosed.

• Marginal note:Representations

  (4) If a notice is given to a person by the Regulator under subsection (1), the Regulator shall

  • (a) give the person the opportunity to make, within 20 days after the day on which the notice is given, written representations to the Regulator as to why the information or documentation, or a portion of it, should not be disclosed; and

  • (b) after the person has had the opportunity to make representations, but no later than 30 days after the day on which the notice is given, make a decision as to whether or not to disclose the information or documentation and give written notice of the decision to the person.

• Marginal note:Contents of notice of decision to disclose

  (5) A notice given under paragraph (4)(b) of a decision to disclose information or documentation shall include

  • (a) a statement that the person to whom the notice is given may request a review of the decision under subsection (7) within 20 days after the day on which the notice is given; and

  • (b) a statement that if no review is requested under subsection (7) within 20 days after the day on which the notice is given, the Regulator shall disclose the information or documentation.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information or documentation

  (6) If, under paragraph (4)(b), the Regulator decides to disclose the information or documentation, the Regulator shall disclose it on the expiry of 20 days after a notice is given under that paragraph, unless a review of the decision is requested under subsection (7).

• Marginal note:Review

  (7) Any person to whom the Regulator is required under paragraph (4)(b) to give a notice of a decision to disclose information or documentation may, within 20 days after the day on which the notice is given, apply to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for a review of the decision.

• Marginal note:Hearing in summary way

  (8) An application made under subsection (7) shall be heard and determined in a summary way in accordance with any applicable rules of practice and procedure of that Court.

• Marginal note:Court to take precautions against disclosing

  (9) In any proceedings arising from an application under subsection (7), the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia shall take every reasonable precaution, including, when appropriate, conducting hearings in camera, to avoid the disclosure by the Court or any person of any information or documentation that, under this Act, is privileged or is not to be disclosed.