Saving energy for the offshore
Nova Scotia Energy has worked for several years with the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments and industry stakeholders on regulatory priorities for offshore energy. The department also chaired the government-industry working group on the top two priorities:
- Decreasing the time to get regulatory and environmental approvals for development projects
- Modernizing regulations
Through that group, Nova Scotia Energy helped create a more integrated and streamlined process for large-scale offshore development projects. In 2005, the province led the way on an agreement to handle regulatory and environmental assessment processes concurrently. Although both processes maintain their requirements, the time from application to approvals is reduced from nearly two years to less than one. In addition, combining the two steps provides an opportunity for public hearings not necessarily required under the assessment. This integrated approach is being used for the first time with EnCana’s Deep Panuke Project off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Work is also underway to modernize regulations for offshore oil and gas. The proposed regulation changes will allow the latest standards to be applied without waiting for a change in the regulation, something that increases protection and saves money for companies. The first amendment was approved by the Nova Scotia government in August 2006 and is scheduled to go into effect at the end of 2006. It will allow more flexibility for offshore well testing requirements, which could reduce the cost for a single well by up to $30 million in some cases.
