Exploration and Development
Exploration and Development |
|
|
When engaged in exploration, development and production
of petroleum resources, companies are encouraged to follow
"good geophysical practice", "good drilling practice", and
"good production practice". This means that operations will
be conducted in accordance with regulations, standards,
guidelines and the best industry practices. In all cases,
companies must have regard for the safety of persons and
property, protection of the environment, and conservation.
|
|
Land Access and Use
The holder of a license to search, a lease, a well license, a geophysical
license or the holder’s agent has the right to the use and possession of
whatever part of the surface of the location is necessary for the purpose of
exploring for, extracting, and delivering oil and/or natural gas.
In order to enter upon and use any lands for exploration purpose, the
agreement holder must first obtain the right to enter on and use the lands
by way of an agreement with the land owner, for provincially owned crown
lands or private lands. The holder is also liable to pay compensation to the
landowner for any loss of use or damage to the lands caused by the entry,
occupation or operation upon the affected lands.
New Brunswick property ownership information is available from the
Real Property Registry and Mapping Services, Service New Brunswick.
Should the well site be located on Crown Lands, a
License of Occupation
must be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources, Crown Lands
Branch.
A right holder who is unable to make an agreement with the owner of private
lands for land access and use may apply in writing to the Minister for a
special order to enter upon such lands; however, it is strongly encouraged
that the two parties come to an agreement.
Geophysical Exploration
Companies wishing to undertake geophysical exploration in search of oil
and natural gas, bituminous shale, and underground storage resources must
first obtain a geophysical licence and a geophysical permit in accordance
with Geophysical Exploration
Regulation 86-191 under the
Oil and Natural Gas Act.
Geophysical exploration means any investigation of the subsurface of the
land and includes: seismic, gravimetric, magnetic, electrical and
geochemical operations, in addition to test drilling and any other operation
employed to determine geological or other subsurface conditions.
Geophysical exploration involves a variety of authorizations, approvals,
licences and/or permits from several agencies within government. In an
effort to simplify the regulatory approval process, the principal agencies
have collaborated to outline the information and the processes associated
with
geophysical exploration approvals.
Geophysical Licence
A
geophysical licence entitles the holder to conduct a geophysical
program in the area specified in the licence. A licence is issued for a term
of one year and may be
renewed for terms of one year each from the date the renewals are
granted.
Geophysical Permit
A
geophysical permit is required to operate geophysical equipment
in the area specified in the permit. A licence is issued for a term of one
year and may be
renewed for terms of one year each from the date the renewals are
granted.
Drilling
|
No person shall drill a well for the exploration or
development of oil and natural gas unless he/she has a well
licence, or drills the well on behalf of a person who has a
well licence. The person is also required to obtain an
approval to construct and operate a well site, an agreement
issued by the Department of Environment. |
|
Well Licence
A
well licence (or well drilling authorization), valid from the date of
issuance until the well has been properly abandoned, is required to drill a
well to the licensed total depth. For the purpose of public information,
non-confidential data issued to date for wells licensed for oil and natural
gas and bituminous shale is presented in the
Well Drilling Status Table.
A well licence application will contain the general and
technical information necessary to review and approve the drilling of a well
and will also address any environmental or land use concerns. It is
recommended that applicants submit their applications 30 to 45 days prior to
the desired spud date to allow sufficient time to complete the application
approval process. For a summary of well application requirements, please
click here.
A well license may be transferred by submitting a
Transfer of Well License application along with a $50.00 application
fee.
An application to change the well name or the name of the
licensee on a well licence shall be in the form of an
Application to Amend a Well License accompanied by a $50.00 application
fee.
Additional Operational Approvals
A well licensee shall not depart from an approved
drilling program without written or verbal approval by the Minister. A
request to alter an approved drilling program requires submission of an
Application to Amend a Well License , which outlines and details the
requested amendments. No fees apply.
A well licensee shall not suspend or resume drilling,
recondition, plug back, or abandon a well, or suspend production without the
written approval of the Minister. There is no required fee to
apply.
Other Jurisdictional Approvals
| Required Approval/Program |
Use/Purpose |
Contact |
|
Approval of a source (Approval to construct and operate) |
Addresses environmental issues including land
use, containment and storage of fluids, chemical and waste
storage and disposal, and air and noise emissions. |
Sheila Goucher,
Environmental Assessment, Department of Environment
506-444-5382
Mark Glynn,
Industrial Processes, Department of Environment
506-453-2390 |
|
Wetland and watercourse alteration permit |
Addresses well pad or well site access road
construction that requires any ground disturbance, operation of
heavy machinery or tree harvesting within 30m of a watercourse
or a wetland. |
Bernard Doucet,
Surface Water Protection, Department of Environment
506-444-5382 |
|
Protected drinking watershed and protected wellfield |
Addresses activities that may affect water
quality or quantity within a designated protected watershed or
well field area. |
Paul Wilson,
Drinking Water Protection, Department of Environment
506-444-4599 |
| Provincial and Community Planning |
Addresses zoning restrictions, municipal or
rural planning commissions, heritage and cultural resources
areas, or other land access and use restrictions |
Gary Mersereau,
Provincial and Community Planning, Department of Environment
506-453-2171 |
|
Highway access and/or special permits |
Addresses permissions needed for temporary or
permanent access to highways or properties, or special weight
permits for highway use prior to commencing activities. |
Department of Transportation Local district Transportation
Office |
Development and
Production
Discovery Well
|
Should a licensee or lessee discover oil or natural gas
in a new pool or reservoir, he/she shall make a request to the Minister for
a discovery well designation. The Minister may designate a discovery well
where satisfied that the well is in a new and separate pool or reservoir. A
licensee or lessee who has a well designated as a “discovery well” may apply
to the Minister for a discovery well production rate (in a form set out by
the Minister), which is required prior to commencing any production. Up to
three additional wells may be drilled in a discovery well reservoir or pool
and may be produced at the approved discovery well production rate for a
period of 12 months from the finished drilling date of the discovery well.
|
|
Development Plan
In order to drill a fifth well within a new discovery
well pool or field or continue production in the pool or field beyond the 12
months from the discovery well finished drilling date, the licensee or
lessee must make an application for approval of a development plan. The
development plan application will contain all information and data regarding
reservoir characteristics and reserve assessments and clearly detail the
strategy for managing and developing the new pool or field using good
production practices.
An annual update of the approved development plan will be
required which will include all new and relevant data, operational
highlights and reserve assessments up to the preceding year end and planned
development operations and timelines for the upcoming year.
Production Approvals
A licensee or lessee has the exclusive right to produce
oil and natural gas and/or by-products from the respective license area or
lease area, however, production shall not commence from a well until the
licensee or lessee has received an approved production rate for that well,
whether it is a discovery well or a development well. Other approvals are
listed in the table below:
| Required Approval/Program |
Use/Purpose |
Contact |
|
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) |
To identify and assess potential environmental
impacts from a proposed project for commercial extraction of oil
or natural gas |
Sheila Goucher,
Environmental Assessment, Department of Environment
506-444-5382 |
|
Approval of a source (Approval to construct and operate |
Addresses environmental issues including land
use and abandonment, use and containment of fluids, waste
disposal, and air and noise emissions. |
Mark Glynn,
Industrial Processes, Department of Environment
506-453-2390 |
|
Petroleum storage site licence |
Oil and natural gas batteries or facilities
requiring the installation of storage tanks for petroleum
products which exceed a total combined capacity of 2000 liters
of petroleum product. |
Benoit Ouellette
Remediation and Materials Management, Department of
Environment
506-453-7945 |
| Pipeline permit to construct Pipeline license
to operate |
Installation and use of any pipelines (i.e.
distribution lines, service lines, gathering lines) outside of
the facility or battery site or lease boundaries. |
Todd McQuinn
New Brunswick Energy and
Utilities Board (EUB)
506-643-2906 |
|
Wetland and watercourse alteration permit |
Addresses well pad or well site access road
construction that requires any ground disturbance, operation of
heavy machinery or tree harvesting within 30m of a watercourse
or a wetland. |
Bernard Doucet,
Surface Water Protection, Department of Environment
506-444-5382 |
Reporting
Requirements
Various reports are required by legislation for specific operations
(geophysical, drilling, completion and production). Please check our
petroleum data web page to access detailed
information on availability of these reports and how to acquire them.
Further information on wells drilled in the Province is also available in
the
Borehole Database.
Geophysical Exploration
A geophysical licensee shall file the reports listed in
the table below within the time frame established by regulations.
| Report Type |
Submission Timeframe |
Content Summary |
| Progress Report |
Last day of each month for progress; and/or
promptly for change of crew headquarters |
A plan showing location of all lines, trails or
roads constructed or used, and the number and location of each
shot hole or test hole for the preceding month. |
| Final Report |
Within 30 days after completion of program |
Submit
Form 1 Final Report. |
| Final Plan (2 copies) |
Within 3 months of completion of the program |
The report should include maps, logs and
computer stacking diagram as required in Section 12 of
Regulation 86-191. |
Drilling and Completion
The holder of a well licence is required to report on
operations undertaken during any drilling, completion, re-completion or
testing of a well and submit the necessary reports within the established
timeframe. The table below provides a summary of well operations reporting
requirements.
| Report Type |
Submission Timeframe |
Content Summary |
| Notification of Drilling Commencement |
Within 24 hours of spud |
Notification of date and time of well drilling
commencement. |
| Daily Well Report |
Daily |
Information for
daily well report. |
| Well Report |
45 days from rig release |
Analysis, tests, survey, logs and activities at
the well from spud to release date (Well
/Geological Report Checklist). |
| Analysis, Tests, Surveys, Logs |
1 month after completing, evaluating, finishing
or suspending an operation |
Pertinent information and data for all
analysis, testing, surveys or logs undertaken at a well as
specified by regulations. |
| Drill Stem Test or Wire Line Test |
1 month after completing test |
Pertinent information and data for all analysis
and tests as specified by regulations. |
| Drill Cuttings* |
1 month after finished drilling date |
Submission of labelled cloth bags and vial
trays of cutting samples collected at 3 meter-intervals from
surface. |
| Drill Core* |
1 month after finished drilling date |
Submission of drill core (in lidded boxes) for
all recovered core samples. |
| 1 month after completion of any core analysis |
Reports of routine measurements of porosity,
permeability and fluid saturation. |
| 6 months after completion of any core analysis |
Reports of measurements pertaining to the
estimation or the recovery of oil, bituminous crude or gas
reserves. |
* A collection of all cores and
samples taken from wells drilled for the purpose of oil and natural gas,
bituminous shale, and underground storage resources is available at the
Department’s core storage facility. Click
here
for information on submission procedures, storage guidelines, and
viewing and sampling requirements. If you are interested in drill core
or chip sample information, please check the
Core Storage Database.
Production and Royalties
The holder of a well licence is required to report on any
well production or injection operations and subsequent royalties within the
established timeframe. The table below provides a summary of production,
injection and royalty reporting requirements.
| Report Type |
Submission Timeframe |
Content Summary |
| Production During Testing Operations |
14 days after well is placed on first
production |
Specific as to the recovery of oil or gas and
period of time in production. |
| Notification of First Production from a New
Well |
Within 24 hours of production commencement |
Written of verbal notification of date and time
of well production commencement. |
| Production and Injection |
15 days from end of month |
Production and injection specifics and
disposition, delivery, and inventory particulars on a form
provided by the Minister. |
| Royalty |
By the 25th day of the month following the
month of the sale |
Production and disposition volumes, amounts
realized from any sales, and payment of the province’s royalty
share. |
|