The BC Oil & Gas Commission
Proactively Participating in Project
Decision Making Processes
James O’Hanley
Deputy Commissioner
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BC Oil & Gas Commission - Overview
• Established as a Crown Corporation in 1998
• Oil and Gas Activities Act provides authorities
• Single-Window Regulatory Agency for upstream
oil & gas activities
• 5 Offices throughout BC - additional staff in
NWBC
• Pure regulator of oil and gas activities – do not
issue tenures or administer royalties
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Oil and Gas Activities Act (OGAA)
Provides statutory authority to the Commission to regulate oil
and gas activities as defined by the Act including:
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All exploration and development activities
Production, gathering, processing, storage (including storage
reservoirs) and disposal
Provincially regulated pipelines (gas, oil & related water)
Construction and operation of LNG plants, gas plants and facilities
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Other Legislation
The Commission serves as a “one
window” agency able to provide
authorizations under the following
Acts:
• Forest Act
• Land Act
• Water Act
• Environmental Management Act
• Heritage Conservation Act
• ALC Act – NE BC only (delegated)
In Summary the OGC Approves and Regulates:
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Exploration, development, production, processing,
storage and disposal of oil and gas and associated
water
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Construction and operation of provincially regulated
pipelines for oil, gas and associated water
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Gas plants and facilities
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Oil and gas road construction and maintenance
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Water allocation
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Air emissions & liquid waste discharges
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Crown Land use (includes some aggregate extraction)
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Timber harvesting (Crown land only)
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Environmental protection
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Archaeological impacts
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Remediation and reclamation
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Some provincial permits on federally regulated projects
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First Nations and stakeholder consultation related to
above
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Some projects normally regulated federally
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Compliance & enforcement / Emergency Management
Geophysical Exploration Regulation
Service Regulation
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OGC: Organizational Focus Areas
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Public Safety
Environmental Protection
First Nations and Stakeholder Engagement
Effective, Efficient decision-making
Transparency
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Where Does OGC Fit in the Development of a
Reviewable Natural Gas Project?
Exploration &
Investigative
Phase
OGC Permitting
Compliance & Enforcement
Emergency Response
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EA Process
EA Certificate of
Approval
OGC Participation
in Working Group
Project
Construction
Phase
Operation &
Maintenance
Phase
OGC Permitting*
Compliance & Enforcement
Emergency Response
Environmental assessment and permitting processes may proceed at the same time, though OGC
project approval or construction may not occur unless an EA certificate is issued
Synchronous permitting
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Permitting: Exploration and Investigative Phase
During preparation for an Environmental Assessment proponents
may apply to the OGC for authorization to do activities such as:
• Temporary use or occupation of land
for technical studies, camps,
helipads, workspaces and storage
areas
• Temporary road or trail access
• Temporary water use
• Changes in or about a stream
• Cut and/or remove crown timber
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Environmental Assessment Process
OGC participates as a member of Working Groups to ensure:
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Rationalize matters best dealt with at EA vs permitting
Coordinated First Nations Consultation
Early warning for permitting issues
Efficiencies with public consultation
Effective OGC reviews of applications
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Where Do First Nations Fit in the
Development of a Reviewable Gas Project?
Exploration &
Investigative
Phase
EA Process
EA Certificate of
Approval
Project
Construction
Phase
Operation &
Maintenance
Phase
First Nations engagement by proponent, EAO, and permitting agencies
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Proactive Participation by First Nations
Key is to get involved in environmental assessments:
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Primary opportunity to raise interests and concerns
Opportunity to deal with authorizing agencies together
Develop clarity on how permit level consultation will occur
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OGC preference – coordinate with EA consultation during EA
Synchronous permitting