Canada Oil and Gas Geophysical Operations Regulations (SOR/96-117)

Plugging Shot Holes

• 25 (1) Every operator who is conducting an onshore geophysical operation shall, after a charge has detonated, ensure that the shot hole is plugged by

  • (a) filling the shot hole with drilling mud or cuttings to the point where the plug required by paragraph (b) is to be inserted;

  • (b) inserting a shot hole plug of a type approved by the Chief Conservation Officer to a depth of at least 30 cm below the surface;

  • (c) filling the shot hole above the plug with drilling mud or cuttings and tamping the contents into the shot hole; and

  • (d) spreading any remaining drilling mud or cuttings over the ground in the vicinity of the shot hole.

• (2) Where, during an onshore geophysical operation, water or gas comes to the surface of a shot hole, the operator shall

  • (a) in the case of water, immediately attempt to plug the shot hole to confine the water; and

  • (b) in the case of gas, immediately evacuate the site until the gas has dissipated.

• (3) Every operator who, during an onshore geophysical operation, disturbs a shot hole from a previous geophysical operation shall ensure that the shot hole is plugged in accordance with subsection (1).

Walkaway Vertical Seismic and Resistivity Surveys

26 Every operator who is conducting an onshore geophysical operation shall ensure that

• (a) in the case of a walkaway vertical seismic survey, all shot holes in an area where drilling operations for a well are being conducted are clearly marked; and

• (b) in the case of a resistivity survey, all electrodes are clearly flagged or cordoned off to prevent accidental human contact with the electrodes.

Archaeological Sites

• 27 (1) Where an archaeological site or a burial ground is discovered during an onshore geophysical operation, the operator shall so inform a conservation officer and suspend the operation in the immediate area of the discovery until permitted by the conservation officer to resume the operation in that area.

• (2) A conservation officer shall permit the resumption of a geophysical operation that was suspended under subsection (1) if the conservation officer, after consultation with the Minister of Communications, is satisfied that the operation will not disturb the archaeological site or the burial ground and will not affect the archaeological or other special characteristics or the nature of the site or ground.

PART IVOccupational Safety and Health

Radio Communication

28 Every operator shall ensure that radio communication is maintained

• (a) in the case of an onshore geophysical operation, with all vehicles in the vicinity of the operation, to the extent possible; and

• (b) in the case of an offshore geophysical operation, with all vessels and platforms in the vicinity of the operation and with a shore-based station.

Safe Working Practices

29 Every operator shall ensure that all equipment and materials that are used during a geophysical operation are handled, operated and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers’ specifications.

30 Every operator who is conducting an offshore geophysical operation shall ensure that every member of the geophysical crew

• (a) wears a suitable personal flotation device at all times when the member is working on deck;

• (b) is equipped with a safety belt and a safety line whenever the member is positioned or working near the cable reel or working on the back deck during periods when there is any possibility of the member falling or being thrown or swept overboard;

• (c) does not work alone on the back deck; and

• (d) wears high visibility clothing.

31 Every operator who is conducting a geophysical operation shall ensure that an evacuation route is set up from each work station and that the route is accessible to every member of the geophysical crew who is working at that station.

32 Every operator who is conducting an onshore geophysical operation shall ensure that

• (a) every member of the geophysical crew wears high visibility clothing when working at the field location of the operation; and

• (b) every vehicle used in the geophysical operation is equipped with at least one portable fire extinguisher with a 5B rating.

No Smoking

• 33 (1) No person shall smoke near a marine recording cable or in any area where inflammable materials or explosives are being used or stored in the course of any geophysical operation.

• (2) Every operator shall post, near the cable and in each area referred to in subsection (1), a sign prohibiting smoking.

Hours of Work

• 34 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every operator shall ensure that no member of the geophysical crew is required to work

  • (a) a shift in excess of 12 consecutive hours; or

  • (b) two successive shifts the combined total of which exceeds 12 hours unless that member has had at least 6 consecutive hours of rest between those shifts.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any member of the geophysical crew who is required to work in the case of an emergency.

Training of Geophysical Crew

• 35 (1) Every operator shall ensure that every member of the geophysical crew

  • (a) is familiar with the safety equipment that the member may use, and with the safety procedures that the member may have to carry out during the operation;

  • (b) undergoes the instruction, training and drills necessary to enable the member to cope with both normal operations and emergency situations; and

  • (c) is familiar with the Safety Manual for Geophysical Field Operations, 6th edition, 1986, published by the International Association of Geophysical Contractors, as amended from time to time.

• (2) Every operator who is conducting an offshore geophysical operation shall ensure that every member of the geophysical crew has successfully completed

  • (a) a survival course approved by the Chief Safety Officer; and

  • (b) a helicopter underwater escape course approved by the Chief Safety Officer, where regular changes of geophysical crew by helicopter are planned.

• (3) The Chief Safety Officer shall approve

  • (a) a course referred to in paragraph (2)(a) if the Chief Safety Officer is satisfied that the course will provide an adequate level of knowledge of the hazards and emergencies that are likely to be encountered on a vessel or platform that is engaged in a geophysical operation and of techniques for surviving those hazards and emergencies; and

  • (b) a course referred to in paragraph (2)(b) if the Chief Safety Officer is satisfied that the course will provide adequate training in the methods of escaping from a helicopter that is underwater.

• (4) Every operator shall ensure that only those members of the geophysical crew who are trained in the operation and maintenance of the seismic energy source and the components of seismic energy systems will be responsible for their handling and maintenance.

Access to Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations

36 Every operator shall keep a copy of the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations at the field location of each geophysical operation in a place that is accessible to the geophysical crew.

PART VReporting Requirements

Status Report

37 Every operator shall submit to the Chief Conservation Officer, at the commencement and termination of the geophysical operation and once a week during the operation, in a manner and form approved by the Chief Conservation Officer, a report on the progress of the operation that includes

• (a) the number assigned to the operation that is the subject of the geophysical operation authorization;

• (b) the identification of the lines on which the data are collected;

• (c) the quantity of data collected per line;

• (d) the location and status of any vessels and platforms from which the operation is conducted;

• (e) any unusual weather conditions or other incidents that cause downtime; and

• (f) the location of any shot hole referred to in subsection 25(2).

Final Report

• 38 (1) Subject to subsection (3), within 12 months after the date of termination of a geophysical operation, every operator shall submit to the Chief Conservation Officer a report that includes

  • (a) a title page that indicates the number that is assigned to the operation that is the subject of the geophysical operation authorization, the report title, the type of operation conducted, the location of the operation, the duration of operations at that field location, the names of the contractors, the operator, the interest owners, if any, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, and the author, and the date of the report;

  • (b) a table of contents;

  • (c) an introduction or abstract;

  • (d) location maps that show the boundaries of the area that is subject to each interest covered by the operation and the identification number of each such interest;

  • (e) a summary of significant dates, the number of members of the complement, if applicable, the number of members of the geophysical crew, the type and number of each type of equipment used, the production data, the total distance surveyed, the downtime per day, and the number of kilometres of data recorded per day;

  • (f) a summary of weather, sea, ice and topographic conditions and their effect on the operation;

  • (g) a general description of the operation including the instrument type, the accuracy of the navigation, positioning and survey systems, the parameters for the energy source and recording system and the field configuration of the source lines and the receiver lines;

  • (h) a detailed description of the geophysical data processing method including the processing sequence and the processing parameters for seismic, magnetic, gravimetric and other geophysical surveys;

  • (i) shotpoint maps, track plots, flight lines with numbered fiducial points, gravity station maps and, for seabed surveys, location maps for core holes, grab samples and seabed photographs;

  • (j) a fully processed, migrated seismic section for each seismic line recorded and, in the case of a 3-D survey, each line generated from the 3-D data set;

  • (k) a high-resolution section for each line recorded in a well-site seabed survey or a pipeline route survey;

  • (l) a series of gravity and magnetic profiles across all gravimetric and magnetic surveys for which interpretative maps have not been made;

  • (m) shotpoint location data;

  • (n) bathymetric and topographic maps that are compiled from the data collected;

  • (o) interpretative maps that are appropriate to the data collected including

    • (i) structure and isopach maps, time structure and time interval maps, velocity and residual velocity maps, and seismic amplitude and character change maps,

    • (ii) final Bouguer gravity maps and any residual or other processed gravity maps, and

    • (iii) final total magnetic intensity contour maps and any residual, gradient or other processed magnetic maps;

  • (p) synthetic seismograms and seismic modelling studies that use synthetic seismograms, vertical seismic profiles at wells that were used in the interpretation of the operation data, amplitude versus offset studies, and seismic inversion sections, if any; and

  • (q) the interpretation of maps and seismic sections including

    • (i) geological and geophysical correlations,

    • (ii) where applicable, correlations between gravity, magnetic and seismic data,

    • (iii) in the case of seabed surveys, the geophysical correlation of shallow seismic data with data from cores and geotechnical boreholes,

    • (iv) details of corrections or adjustments that were applied to the data during processing or compilation, and

    • (v) the operator’s velocity information that was used in a time-to-depth conversion.

• (2) An operator shall incorporate in a map submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(o) any previous data collected by the operator that are related to the area covered by the map and that are of a type similar to the data from which the map was produced.

• (3) An operator who has conducted a non-exclusive survey need not, in the report required by subsection (1), provide the information and materials described in paragraphs (1)(n) to (q) in respect of data that are available for purchase by the public.

• (4) Where an operator who has conducted a non-exclusive survey ceases to make available for purchase by the public any data from that survey that were so available, the operator shall, within 12 months after the date on which the operator ceased to make the data available, submit to the Chief Conservation Officer a supplementary report that contains the information and materials described in paragraphs (1)(n) to (q) in respect of the data, unless the Chief Conservation Officer has received a report pursuant to subsection (5) that includes such information and materials.

• (5) Every purchaser of geophysical data that arise from a geophysical operation in an area that is subject to an interest, where the costs of the purchase of the data are credited against deposit or rental requirements of the interest, and every participant shall submit to the Chief Conservation Officer a report that contains all of the information and materials described in paragraphs (1)(n) to (q) that have been prepared by or for that purchaser or participant.

• (6) Where a purchaser of geophysical data that arise from a geophysical operation in an area that is subject to an interest has reprocessed the data and the costs of the reprocessing are credited against deposit or rental requirements of the interest, the purchaser shall submit to the Chief Conservation Officer a report that contains the information and materials described in paragraphs (1)(a), (h), (j) to (l) and (o) to (q) that have been prepared in respect of the reprocessed data by or for the purchaser.

• (7) The reports required by subsections (5) and (6) shall be submitted

  • (a) in the case of a participant, within 12 months after the date of termination of the geophysical operation; and

  • (b) in the case of a purchaser, by the time the costs referred to in subsection (5) or (6) are credited.

• (8) A person who has submitted a report referred to in this section shall, in respect of data that pertain to the location of shotpoints or stations, immediately notify the Chief Conservation Officer of any errors, omissions or corrections identified in or made to the data subsequent to the submission of the report.

• (9) A report referred to in this section shall be submitted in the form, manner and quantity approved by the Chief Conservation Officer.