Oil and Gas – law
On November 15, 2023, the AER released a new edition of the Pipeline Rules, which came in force on the same day.
The amended Pipeline Rules:
- allow the use of temporary surface pipelines for water conveyance in support of the Water Conservation Policy for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations;
- align with standard CSA Z662: Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems concerning the safety and loss management system, and integrity management program;
- clarify requirements for minimum cover for existing or abandoned pipelines;
- remove duplicate requirements for pressure control and overpressure protection at pipeline tie-ins in cases where pressure control is managed elsewhere;
- reorganize requirements for ground disturbance, including trenchless excavation techniques;
- provide a limited exemption for release reporting of specific on-installation releases (that are low volume, low risk and not an indicator of pipeline integrity concerns);
- reorganize requirements and update the pipeline removal process to ensure consistency with current discontinuation and abandonment processes;
- allow licensees up to 24 months (rather than 12) to discontinue, abandon or resume an operation of a pipeline managed under an integrity management program; and
- allow for some system-wide abandonments without disconnecting tie-ins.
In conjunction with the release of the Pipeline Rules, the AER released new editions of:
- Directive 077: Pipelines – Requirements and Reference Tools (“Directive 077”);
- Directive 056: Energy Development Applications and Schedules (“Directive 056”);
- Manual 005: Pipeline Inspections (“Manual 005”); and
- Manual 012: Energy Development Applications; Procedures and Schedules (“Manual 012”).
Directive 077
The main changes to Directive 077 include:
- expansion of the use of temporary surface pipelines for water conveyance (improving operational efficiency) and addition of five associated forms (authorization requests and information submissions);
- increased alignment with CSA standards and revision of references to CSA Z662: Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems;
- revision of the sections on the use of gaseous and non-fresh water as test mediums for pressure testing, including the addition of two new forms;
- deletion of redundant or no longer relevant content;
- revision of certain figures and interpretation of jurisdictional boundaries for pipelines and piping; and
- addition of a new section on commingling oil effluent and gas production streams.
Directive 056
The main changes to Directive 056 include:
- reordering of pipeline-related sections to improve clarity;
- minor changes to pipeline abandonment, discontinuance, removal and line split provisions;
- change in the pipeline technical audit documentation requirements for new construction and amendment applications; and
- change in application requirements in accordance with the revised Pipeline Rules and Directive 077 to align with CSA Z662.
Manual 005
The main changes to Manual 005 include:
- addition of new sections to align with the Pipeline Rules;
- reorganization of sections by technical subject groups;
- addition of specified enactments requirements; and
- update of references to the CSA Z662
Manual 012
The main changes to Manual 012 include:
- addition of and changes to sections in response to the changes in the Pipeline Rules, Directive 056, Directive 077 and OneStop;
- renumbering sections to improve clarity; and
- consolidation of information from frequently asked questions.
