Temporary Regulatory Relief Measures due to COVID-19
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All oil and gas ministries in Western Canada have announced relief measures for operators during the COVID-19 pandemic. I realize that we've outlined these measures in previous newsletters, but we felt it would be advantageous for some to have all of the information listed in one place.
Below is a summary for each jurisdiction.
ALBERTA:
IL 2020-13
(effective April 8, 2020):
temporarily deferred specific reporting requirements for the industry until August 14, 2020.
IL 2020-21
(effective May 11, 2020):
one-year extensions for Petroleum and Natural Gas agreements, Oil Sands agreements and Metallic and Industrial Mineral permits expiring from March 20, 2020, up to and including March 31, 2021. Extension applications must be submitted to Alberta Energy prior to agreement expiry.
IB 2020-02 (May 4, 2020):
update to
IL 2020-14
regarding the future resumption of public offerings and direct purchases of PNG Crown mineral rights.
Bulletin 2020-10
(effective April 9, 2020) and
Bulletin 2020-11
(effective April 15, 2020) outline the relief measures described in Ministerial Order 219/2020. A summary of the measures can be found
here
.
SASKATCHEWAN:
BT 2020-007 (effective April 14, 2020):
allows for discretionary enforcement for oil and gas regulations, retroactive to March 1, 2020, suspension of some reporting requirements and authorization expiries and extends compliance implementation of PNG017 and PNG076 to April 1, 2021.
BRITISH COLUMBIA:
- INDB 2020-09 (effective April 16, 2020): deferral of 2019/2020 annual pipeline liability levy from 30 to 90 days,
- postponing invoicing of the Orphan Well Liability Levy,
- exercise discretion to extend the expiry of a permit of authorization, pursuant to Ministerial Order 98/2020. The order can be found here.
MANITOBA:
IN 20-06
(effective immediately):
a one-year extension on Crown Oil and Gas Leases whose current term is set to expire between April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021.
Holders of Manitoba Crown Oil & Gas Leases may apply for the one-year relief extension by submitting a Letter of Application for Relief Extension to the Director of Regulatory Services, Mr. Peter Mraz.
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Alberta Energy Mineral Rights IB 2020-01: Offset Obligations for Crown PNG Agreements
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On April 2, 2020, Alberta Energy reminded operators that as per IL 2000-06, the practice of advising of potential offset obligations in the Public Offering Notice (PON) had been discontinued. Potential bidders are expected to thoroughly research the area and geology regarding potential offset obligations within the posted rights.
Additional information regarding offset wells can be found in the
Offset Guide
.
A copy of Mineral Right IB 2020-01 can be found
here
.
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SK: BT 2020-009 – Updated version of Directive PNG025
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BCOGC Industry Bulletin 2020-13 – Natural Gas Levy Change
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The BCOGC has decreased the natural gas production levy from $0.85 per 1,000 m
3
of marketable gas produced to $0.77, to compensate for an increase in the
liability levy
for orphan site restoration. This takes effect beginning with April 2020 production, and will appear on the June 23, 2020 invoices.
A copy of INDB 2020-13 can be found
here.
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Integrated Compliance Management Program (ICMP) at Benoit
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Did you know that Benoit provides a service which covers our regulatory application, liability management ratio and evaluation services under one umbrella?
Under this program,
Benoit acts as a “regulatory arm” for your company by receiving and responding to all compliance related matters on your company’s behalf,
usually for only a few hundred dollars per month.
As your regulatory designate, in addition to our regulatory application service, Benoit conducts a number of additional services including, but not limited to:
- Inactive Well Compliance Program Monitoring
- Liability Management Rating Forecasting
- DDS Entry for Well/Completion Details
- Flaring Notifications
- Well Test Data Submissions
- Gas Conservation Economic Analyses
- Monthly VRR calculations/updates for Enhanced Recovery Schemes
If you're interested in this service or would like to discuss this further, please contact us or
visit our website
for more information
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Follow us on LinkedIn!
We post regulatory updates to our LinkedIn company page on a weekly basis. Follow us to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date information. To view and follow our company page, please click
here.
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