New Onshore Drilling Rules Take Effect
New regulations to govern onshore drilling for oil and gas in Nova Scotia have been approved by the provincial government.
Gordon Balser, Minister responsible for the Petroleum Directorate, says the new rules come into effect as the onshore part of the industry has started to attract a lot of new activity.
"A great deal of land has been licensed onshore Nova Scotia over the past few years", said Mr. Balser. "Industry exploration drilling has begun in a number of new areas where industry hopes to be successful."
Until now, the drilling rules were attached as a condition of each licence application. The new general regulations now cover all onshore oil and gas drilling activities. Approvals are required for permission to: drill a well; suspend a well; re- enter a well; or abandon a well.
The new regulations are also designed to meet the government’s objectives on efficient and effective regulations. In particular, the regulations meet modern requirements for clear and specific objectives and outcomes to be achieved.
The regulations also make it clear that matters of occupational health and safety and protection of the environment are the responsibility of the Department of Environment and Labour.
The first drilling program to be covered under the new regulations will be Northstar Energy’s drilling activities now under way in Hants County. The company plans to drill up to five slim-hole wells. The wells are designed to go as deep as 2,000 metres in an attempt to further identify potential oil and gas exploration sites. The work is set to be done by Truro-based Logan Drilling.
"We were pleased to find a well qualified Nova Scotia company to carry out this part of our exploration program," said Northstar Energy official Jim Beattie. "We have plans for a lot of exploration activity throughout Nova Scotia over the next few years and we hope to use Nova Scotia companies and workers whenever the equipment and skills are available."
Four companies have conventional onshore exploration agreements in Nova Scotia. Northstar Energy has six agreements on 955,649 hectares of land; Hunt Oil has one agreement on 299,685 hectares; Amvest Nova Scotia has four agreements on 235,529 hectares; and Consolidated Beacon Resources has two agreements on 88,932 hectares. In addition, Amvest Nova Scotia has two coal gas agreements -- one for exploration and the other for production. PanCanadian has one.
More information on the regulations may be found on the Nova Scotia Petroleum Directorate Web site at: www.gov.ns.ca/petro by following the links under Governments-Nova Scotia Petroleum Directorate -- Legislation.