Thank you for the opportunity for our board to provide information on the state of emergency response assets available and the adequacy of the current regulations governing this industry as they pertain to Nova Scotia. I won't repeat, but we are a similar board to the Newfoundland board, same type of legislation and responsibilities.
The Cohasset-Panuke project operated from 1992 to 1999, producing a total of 45.5 million barrels of light oil. When it began production in 1992, it became Canada's first offshore oil project. Our board regulates petroleum activities that total in the area of some 45.5 million hectares. During the life of that Cohasset-Panuke project there were no significant spills or well control incidents.
The Sable offshore energy project is the only currently operating project. It involves production of natural gas from five separate fields in shallow water approximately 225 kilometres off the east coast of Nova Scotia. Production began in December of 1999, and is expected to continue well into this decade. Development of additional past discoveries and any new discoveries could extend that project life. It is producing approximately 350 million cubic feet of natural gas, brought ashore via a subsea pipeline to a processing plant in Goldboro, Nova Scotia.
Now under development is EnCana's Deep Panuke offshore gas development, which involves the production of natural gas from an offshore field approximately 250 kilometres southeast of Halifax in shallow water, the gas to be transported to shore to Goldboro via a subsea pipeline.
Today you've asked us to talk about the regulatory regime, so rather than repeat what Mr. Ruelokke has said, I'll add some other things that both boards do.
Our regulatory regime is permissive in nature, meaning that any work activity to be conducted in the offshore area must first be authorized by our board. To obtain an authorization to conduct a particular work activity, an application must be submitted by the holder of the licence. There are a number of attendant elements, including a demonstration of financial responsibility, safety, environmental protection, resource conservation, industrial benefits, certification, declarations, and operating licences, as more detailed in Mr. Ruelokke's presentation.
The health and safety of offshore workers and the protection of the environment is paramount to our board. By regulation, an application for any authorization of drilling or production operations must be accompanied by safety plans, an environmental protection plan, and also by contingency plans and emergency response procedures. These plans must demonstrate that an operator has a robust safety and environmental management system in place and must clearly demonstrate that the operator has properly identified the health, safety, and environmental hazards associated with the proposed work activities. Training of the offshore workers is paramount. I should add that in our offshore, both in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia—I think Max would agree with me—we have a safety culture that is second to none.
The operator must also demonstrate that the associated risks have been evaluated and can be mitigated and managed. Drilling and production activities proposed in the offshore area trigger a requirement under CEAA to conduct the environmental assessment. The board is a federal authority under this act and follows the environmental assessment requirements in the CEA Act. Environmental assessments must also be in compliance with the Species at Risk Act to ensure the protection of listed species that may be affected by offshore areas. These environmental assessments must be completed and a determination made that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects before the board would issue an authorization for a proposed work or activity.
Specific to drilling and production installations, such facilities must also have a valid certificate of fitness issued by a government-recognized independent certifying authority before that installation can be used to conduct any activity in the offshore area. In addition to verifying compliance with regulations and with detailed scope of work that is approved by the board's chief safety officer, the certifying authority reviews and approves the maintenance, inspection, and testing programs, and the operations manual for installation.
In accordance with our act, the board, prior to issuing that authorization, considers safety by reviewing, in consultation with its chief safety officer, the system as a whole, as well as its components.
With regard to evidence of financial responsibility, the operator must submit to the board documentation that evidences the required proof of financial capacity. No authorization will be issued until that evidence is satisfactory to the board.
Activities authorized by the board are subject to ongoing monitoring programs that evaluate operator compliance with health, safety, and environmental requirements. Operators must submit a variety of reports to the board providing information on the status of their work programs and to confirm compliance with regulatory requirements.
Board staff regularly conduct health, safety, and environmental compliance audits and inspections at the offshore work sites. I should add that there is always follow-up to any of the issues they find.
Operators are required to report all spills and other specified hazardous incidents that occur in their work locations. In each case, the board ensures the operator takes appropriate action to determine the causes of the spills or incidents and to prevent the recurrence. In more serious cases, the board will conduct its own independent investigation.
The board has established compliance and enforcement policies to address regulatory non-compliance. Under this policy, the board will seek voluntary compliance from the operator, but other possible actions may include issuance of orders, directives or notices, suspension or revocation of approvals and authorizations, and, lastly, prosecution.
The regulations we enforce are written and promulgated by the two governments. A key element of that under which we operate is a set of comprehensive guidelines that our board issues to aid operators in understanding and interpreting how they may achieve regulatory compliance.
With the promulgation of the new drilling and production regulations in December of last year, the CNSOPB, along with the Newfoundland board and the National Energy Board, issued a set of four guideline documents in association with these new regulations. These guidelines address requirements for the submission of details with respect to well control and cementing programs for drilling program approvals and, furthermore, for the submission of safety plans and environmental protection plans.
The board's focus in its review of applications is to ensure operators have taken any necessary steps to prevent hazardous incidents and spills. Should a major accident, spill, or uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons occur during an authorized activity, the board would lead the government response.
The exception to this would be in the case of a rupture of an export pipeline, in which case the response would then be jointly led by our board and the NEB. The operator would be fully accountable and responsible for attending to any spill and for any damages.
Our board has an emergency response plan that will be activated during a significant spill event. Depending upon the significance of the spill and the operator's response, the board's roles range from monitoring operator activities, giving direction to the operator, or, in the most severe cases, actually managing the spill response.
The regulatory requirements in place require a very high level of training and demonstrated competency for the offshore workforce. This includes well control certification and emergency response training, combined with regular drills and exercises. These standards are in keeping with or exceed the highest of international standards.
I should mention that over the weekend I spoke with the CEO of Survival Systems Limited, located in Dartmouth, which is considered to be one of the best training centres in the world for all of this. They do training for the Spanish and French navies, Australia's homeland security, and our own navy.
In fact, in Canada alone, I note on their website, 11 individuals have testified that they survived actual helicopter ditchings because of the training they received at Survival Systems. Their CEO has extended to this committee an invitation to visit that facility so you can see for yourself the extremely vigilant standard for the training of the offshore workers.
In the unlikely event that relief well operational plans must be executed, the contingency plans referred to earlier must provide details of how they would secure the necessary equipment to undertake those operations.
Some of the natural gas fields in offshore Nova Scotia do contain some light hydrocarbon liquids called condensate. Should a release occur from one of these fields, there would be a plume dispersed down current from the source over the duration of the release. However, given the properties of the condensate, the resultant surface sheen would have a thickness that would be measured in microns. Its overall size would be limited, given that it would rapidly dissipate through evaporation and through dispersion within the upper water column.
All operators have a contract with an environmental response organization, such as Eastern Canada Response Corporation, to provide additional resources and expertise as and when necessary in responding to a spill. Transport Canada can also provide aerial surveillance services.
The board would also coordinate with the regional environmental emergencies team, REET, which is chaired by Environment Canada, to provide expert advice. REET members include Transport Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and many other departments, provincial governments, and aboriginal groups where appropriate.
In closing, the board is of the opinion that the regulatory regime that is in place provides for a high level of safety and environmental protection. The board is vigilant in its administration of its mandate and holds all operators accountable to meet the expected standards. We are keen to learn from the unfortunate accident in the Gulf of Mexico, and, like others, we will apply learnings that come out of that investigation.
Thank you for this opportunity.