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Under section 59 of the Oil and Natural Gas Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council makes the following Regulation:

1This Regulation may be cited as the Geophysical Exploration Regulation - Oil and Natural Gas Act.

2In this Regulation

“Act” means the Oil and Natural Gas Act;

“Director of Surveys” means the Director of Surveys designated under section 3 of the Surveys Act;

“District Transportation Engineer” means the engineer in charge of a highway district established under section 14 of the Highway Act;

“geophysical equipment” means any equipment used for, or in connection with, or preparatory to geophysical exploration;

“geophysical permit” means a permit to operate geophysical equipment granted by the Minister under section 13;

“highway” means a highway as defined in the Highway Act;

“monument” means a device planted by a surveyor;

“municipality” includes a rural community;

“Oil and Natural Gas Survey System” means the survey system established under the Survey System Regulation - Oil and Natural Gas Act;

“road” means any public road, road allowance or right of way other than a highway.

2005-75

GEOPHYSICAL LICENCE

3(1)An application for a geophysical licence shall be on a form provided by the Minister and shall be accompanied by

(a) a preliminary plan, in duplicate, of the proposed geophysical exploration, for approval by the Minister;

(b) the fee set out in Schedule A;

(c) the security deposit as set out in Schedule B;

(d) a statement of the projected cost of the proposed geophysical exploration program; and

(e) such other information as the Minister may require.

3(2)The preliminary plan referred to in subsection (1) shall

(a) be of a scale not smaller than 1:50,000;

(b) outline the area in which the geophysical exploration is to be undertaken and show the location in accordance with the Oil and Natural Gas Survey System; and

(c) show the approximate location of

(i) existing roads and highways to be used for access to the exploration area,

(ii) existing lines and trails to be used,

(iii) proposed lines and trails to be cleared or bulldozed, and

(iv) proposed campsites and landing strips where appropriate.

3(3)Where, in the Minister’s opinion, the proposed geophysical exploration will result in the clearing or bulldozing of more new lines and trails than are necessary for the geophysical exploration, the Minister may, by giving the applicant notice, make his approval of the preliminary plan conditional upon

(a) an increase in the security deposit; and

(b) all or part of the lines and trails proposed on the preliminary plan, as specified by the Minister, not being bulldozed or cleared.

4The Minister may grant a geophysical licence for a term of one year from the date the licence is granted where the requirements of section 3 are met.

5An application for renewal of a geophysical licence shall be made by submitting to the Minister, at least thirty days before the termination of the geophysical licence,

(a) an application on a form provided by the Minister;

(b) the fee set out in Schedule A;

(c) the security deposit as set out in Schedule B;

(d) a statement of the total expenditure made by the geophysical licensee during the term of the then existing licence;

(e) a copy of the final report under subsection 12(1);

(f) evidence satisfactory to the Minister that the Act and the regulations have been complied with;

(g) a statement of the projected cost of the geophysical exploration program; and

(h) such other information as the Minister may require.

6The Minister may renew a geophysical licence for terms of one year each from the date the renewals are granted where, for each renewal, the requirements of section 5 are met.

7The following are the terms and conditions of every geophysical licence granted by the Minister:

(a) where a geophysical licensee terminates his licence or discontinues carrying on business in the Province or, being a corporation, ceases to exist as a corporate entity within the Province, all reports, plans, data and maps supplied become property of the Crown in right of New Brunswick and may be made available to the public by the Minister after the expiration of one year after the termination of the licence;

(b) a geophysical licensee is liable for the cost of repairing damage caused by a geophysical permittee doing geophysical exploration on his behalf;

(c) a geophysical licensee shall follow the preliminary plan conditionally or otherwise approved by the Minister and shall not bulldoze or clear the certain lines and trails specified by the Minister not to be bulldozed or cleared; and

(d) a geophysical licensee shall comply with the Act and this Regulation and shall ensure that any person acting on his behalf shall so comply.

8(1)Before a geophysical licensee recommences geophysical exploration that has been interrupted or ceased for a period of time longer than one month, he shall submit a new preliminary plan in accordance with subsection 3(2) to the Minister for his approval.

8(2)The new preliminary plan submitted by a geophysical licensee under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be approved by the Minister on the eleventh day after the date it is received by the Minister unless the Minister gives prior written notice to the applicant that

(a) the plan does not comply with subsection 3(2),

(b) the Minister has given conditional approval under subsection 3(3), or

(c) the Minister requires further information.

9(1)Every geophysical licensee shall allow the Minister, or any person designated by the Minister for the purpose, to inspect, at any reasonable time at the business premises of the licensee, any field data or field reports obtained by the licensee or his representatives during the course of conducting operations.

9(2)Upon the request of the Minister or any person designated by the Minister for the purpose, every geophysical licensee shall, without notice, forthwith produce for inspection in New Brunswick any field data or field reports obtained by the licensee or his representatives during the course of conducting operations.

10Every geophysical licensee and his representatives shall render to the Minister or any person designated by him such assistance as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the Minister or that person to inspect the field data or field reports.

PROGRESS REPORTS

11(1)A geophysical licensee shall advise the Minister

(a) of the location of the headquarters of each crew operating under the authority of the licence; and

(b) promptly of any change in the location of such headquarters.

11(2)A geophysical licensee shall file in duplicate with the Minister before the last day of each month a plan showing

(a) the location of all lines or trails made or constructed by the geophysical licensee under his licence;

(b) the location of roads, highways, lines or trails which have been used under the geophysical licence; and

(c) the identifying number and location of each shothole and testhole made during the preceding month by the licensee or by a permittee who conducted geophysical exploration on behalf of the licensee.

11(3)The plan required by subsection (2) shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements of subsection 3(2).

11(4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), where a series of shotholes or testholes are drilled in a pattern and the location of each hole cannot be conveniently shown on the plan, the location of the holes may be shown by an insert.

11(5)A geophysical licensee shall inform the Minister in writing of the completion of geophysical exploration within thirty days after the completion.

FINAL REPORT AND FINAL PLAN

12(1)A geophysical licensee shall file with the Minister not later than thirty days after the completion of geophysical exploration, in duplicate, a final report in Form 1 certified by a geologist, registered land surveyor or registered professional engineer.

12(2)A geophysical licensee shall file with the Minister, not later than three months after completion of geophysical exploration, a final plan in duplicate showing in detail

(a) the location of all new lines and trails made or constructed under the licence;

(b) the location of existing roads, highways, lines and trails which have been used under the licence; and

(c) the identifying number and location of each shothole and testhole made in performance of the geophysical exploration.

12(3)The final plan filed under subsection (2), in addition to the requirements of subsection (2), shall

(a) include locations, in accordance with the Oil and Natural Gas Survey System, certified by a geologist, registered land surveyor or registered professional engineer;

(b) be of a scale not smaller than 1:50,000;

(c) show the name of the geophysical licensee submitting the plan and the number of his licence; and

(d) include the name, permit number and address for service of any permittee who conducted geophysical exploration on behalf of the geophysical licensee.

12(4)Together with the final plan filed under subsection (2), the geophysical licensee shall file logs with the Minister on each testhole, providing all available information on

(a) the materials encountered during drilling; and

(b) the conditions in the testhole, whether it is dry, flowing or stable.

12(5)After filing the final report under subsection (1), a geophysical licensee shall, at the request of the Minister, make available to him for purposes of investigation and inspection all geophysical information and data obtained for each seismic survey completed.

12(6)The final report filed by the geophysical licensee under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by a copy of the computer stacking diagram for each line in the geophysical exploration.

GEOPHYSICAL PERMIT

13(1)No person shall operate geophysical equipment unless

(a) he holds a geophysical permit; and

(b) he holds a geophysical licence or the work is being conducted on behalf of a geophysical licensee.

13(2)An application for a geophysical permit shall be

(a) on a form provided by the Minister; and

(b) accompanied by the fee set out in Schedule A.

13(3)The Minister may grant a geophysical permit for a term of one year from the date the permit is granted where the requirements of subsection (2) are met.

14(1)An application for renewal of a geophysical permit shall be made by submitting to the Minister, at least thirty days before the termination of the geophysical permit,

(a) an application on a form provided by the Minister; and

(b) the fee set out in Schedule A.

14(2)The Minister may renew a geophysical permit for terms of one year each from the date the renewals are granted where, for each renewal, the requirements of subsection (1) are met.

15The Minister may cancel a geophysical permit where the permittee does not comply with a provision of the Act or this Regulation.

16(1)A permittee shall, by conspicuous letters and numbers not less than ten centimetres high, mark both sides of each unit of automotive equipment used in his operations with “GPP NO.” followed by his permit number.

16(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to passenger vehicles used by supervisory personnel.

16(3)No permittee shall use a unit of automotive equipment marked with more than one permit number.

GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION

17(1)A geophysical permittee shall not work

(a) within the bounds of a municipality unless the consent in writing of the municipal authority is obtained; or

(b) within any highway right of way unless the consent in writing of the District Transportation Engineer is obtained.

17(2)Where a geophysical permittee has obtained consent in writing under subsection (1) to perform geophysical exploration, he shall

(a) make copies of the written consent available to the Minister on request; and

(b) immediately notify the District Transportation Engineer and municipal authority when work ceases.

18Nothing in this Regulation or the Act exempts a geophysical permittee from the provisions of the Forest Fires Act and the Fire Prevention Act.

19(1)A geophysical licensee is liable for any loss or damage resulting from any fire caused directly or indirectly by

(a) his personal negligence,

(b) the negligence of a permittee acting on behalf of the geophysical licensee, and

(c) the negligence of any other agent or employee,

upon or adjacent to the lands on which geophysical exploration is being conducted by him or on his behalf.

19(2)When a fire starts on or threatens the land or improvements on which geophysical exploration is being conducted, the geophysical licensee, the permittee and their employees and agents shall give, free of charge, their fire fighting services.

SURVEY MONUMENTS

20(1)Before the commencement of any clearing, ditching or grading work, a permittee shall

(a) ascertain from the Director of Surveys the location of monuments in the vicinity of the proposed geophysical exploration;

(b) mark conspicuously the location of each monument by a flag attached to the top of a pole standing at least 1.5 metres above the ground; and

(c) take such other precautions as may be necessary to ensure that no monument is defaced, altered, displaced, disturbed or damaged during the course of geophysical exploration.

20(2)Where a monument is found in a damaged or disturbed condition, a permittee shall immediately notify the Director of Surveys.

20(3)If a monument is destroyed, moved or damaged by a permittee, he shall

(a) immediately notify the Director of Surveys; and

(b) make payment as required by the Director of Surveys for the restoration of the monument.

20(4)Restoration of a monument shall be made by a registered land surveyor acting under instructions of the Director of Surveys.

USE OF LAND, HIGHWAYS AND ROADS

21(1)A permittee shall not clear land, with the exception of snow removal, ditching or grading closer than one metre from the limits of a highway right of way or a road right of way.

21(2)Notwithstanding subsection (1), a permittee may clear within one metre from the limits of a highway right of way or road right of way where an exit from or an entry onto a highway right of way or road right of way is required.

22No permittee shall in the course of his operations do anything that is likely to result in interference with the natural drainage of land.

23No permittee shall drive a spike, pin or other pointed object into the bed of a highway in the course of his operations unless permission is obtained from the District Transportation Engineer.

24No permittee shall

(a) leave bushes, trees, debris, refuse or other material within the limits of a highway right of way or road right of way;

(b) leave a highway right of way or road right of way in a damaged or rutted condition; or

(c) leave mud or cuttings piled within the limits of a highway right of way or road right of way, or leave snow on a highway or road.

25In conducting his operations a permittee shall take care to preserve as much as possible a free and uninterrupted passage of traffic along any highway or road.

26Where conditions are such that a highway right of way or road right of way is damaged or is likely to be damaged by the use of heavy equipment, a permittee shall suspend his operations unless he

(a) accepts full responsibility for any damage to the highway right of way or road right of way, and

(b) gives the municipal authority or the District Transportation Engineer a written undertaking and, if so required, adequate financial security to the satisfaction of the authority concerned to guarantee that repairs shall be made immediately where damage is done.

27Damage to a highway right of way or road right of way shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the owner of the highway right of way or road right of way.

28Where a highway or road is under construction, no permittee shall conduct geophysical exploration on that portion of the highway or road under construction until permission to do so is obtained from the person actually in charge of the construction and, in the case of a highway, from the District Transportation Engineer.

29Where a section of a highway right of way is under construction, no permittee shall undertake any work until permission is obtained from the District Transportation Engineer.

30Where a permittee constructs a road for access to the area where geophysical exploration is being carried out, the work shall be done in a manner consistent with good road construction practices and the cost of construction shall be borne by the permittee.

31(1)The Minister may investigate the clearing of land or disturbance of soil, and the work or restoration with respect to drainage, disposal of refuse, or any other matter in relation to geophysical exploration which may affect the present or future use of

(a) the land; or

(b) a highway right of way or road right of way.

31(2)An investigation under subsection (1) shall be carried out by the permittee in accordance with the written instructions of either the Minister or a District Transportation Engineer.

32(1)A geophysical licensee and a permittee shall allow any person for ordinary travel either on foot or by horse-drawn or motor vehicle to use, free of charge, any trails or roads

(a) constructed or built by them or on their behalf, or

(b) maintained by them in connection with their geophysical exploration,

but such person shall not interfere in any way with the licensee’s or permittee’s use of the trail or road.

32(2)A geophysical licensee or a permittee desiring to use in connection with his geophysical exploration a road built by another licensee or permittee may do so upon bearing a proportionate part of the

(a) initial costs of the construction of the road less annual depreciation; and

(b) costs of maintenance of the road proportional to the use of such road by the several users.

32(3)Where the parties fail to reach an agreement on the proportionate costs under subsection (2), the matter shall be placed before the Minister and the decision of the Minister shall be final and binding on all parties.

SHOTHOLES AND TESTHOLES

33(1)A permittee shall mark each testhole and shothole with a metal tag upon which shall be inscribed the number of the testhole or shothole and the permittee’s permit number.

33(2)The metal tag referred to in subsection (1) shall

(a) be at least seven and one-half centimetres in width and fifteen centimetres in length;

(b) be of a conspicuous colour;

(c) be wired or nailed to a post or tree;

(d) be affixed so that it faces the hole and is not farther than ten metres from the hole; and

(e) where the hole is on a highway right of way or road right of way, be on the same side of the right of way.

34No permittee shall drill a testhole or shothole within

(a) thirty-five metres of a gas, oil or water pipeline, cable or transmission line, or any other utility buried under the surface;

(b) one hundred and twenty metres of a water well;

(c) fifteen metres of a monument;

(d) fifteen metres of a driveway or gateway; or

(e) one hundred and fifty metres of a residence, school, church or other building, or cemetery.

35If the firing of a shot disturbs the plug of a previously abandoned shothole or testhole, a permittee shall recomplete the plugging of the previously abandoned shothole or testhole in compliance with this Regulation.

36A permittee shall spread any surplus soil or other material removed in the drilling of any shothole or testhole so as to avoid interference with drainage and to permit access to adjoining property.

37(1)If any underground water is released from a shothole or testhole in drilling operations and flows to the surface, a permittee shall

(a) cease drilling operations;

(b) plug the hole to prevent the flow of water; and

(c) immediately report the location of the shothole or testhole to the Minister.

37(2)Notwithstanding subsection (1), the shothole or testhole referred to in subsection (1) may be completed as a water well where

(a) the flow of water is properly controlled;

(b) arrangements have previously been made with the surface owner and lawful occupant;

(c) completion of the shothole or testhole will not result in damage to other lands or property or interfere with the rights of others; and

(d) the shothole or testhole is not located on a highway right of way.

38(1)A permittee shall plug a testhole as follows:

(a) a plug not less than one metre in length shall be inserted firmly in the hole so that the top of the plug is 0.5 metres below the surface, and

(i) if the plug is made of cement or concrete, the hole shall be filled and properly tamped, or

(ii) if the plug is made of wood, at least fifteen centimetres of dry cement shall be placed on top of the plug to fill the hole and the hole shall be properly tamped; and

(b) the drilling mud and any material obtained from the hole shall be returned to fill the hole and any remaining mud and other material shall be spread over the ground so that the surface of the land is restored as closely as possible to its original condition.

38(2)A permittee shall firmly plug a shothole with a wooden, cement or other plug having a diameter of not less than the diameter of the hole and at least 0.5 metres in length and

(a) the plug shall be driven into the hole so that the top of the plug is 0.5 metres below the surface and the hole shall be filled and properly tamped; and

(b) the drilling mud and any other material obtained from the hole shall be returned to fill the hole.

38(3)If winter conditions prevent the proper insertion of a plug or the proper tamping, a permittee may temporarily insert a plug to the level of the surface but, as soon as conditions allow, the permittee shall complete the plugging of the shothole or testhole in accordance with this Regulation.

RESTORATION

39(1)If, as a result of a permittee’s operations, any damage occurs, whether

(a) by the caving-in of the sides of a hole,

(b) by the interference with drainage,

(c) by the release of underground water, or

(d) otherwise,

the permittee shall at his own expense take immediate steps to remedy the damage and prevent any recurrence thereof.

39(2)If property is damaged as a result of a permittee’s operations, the permittee shall immediately restore the property as closely as possible to its original condition.

39(3)Notwithstanding subsection (2), if it is not possible to make the repairs immediately, the permittee shall take the necessary steps to ensure against further damage and shall make the repairs with as little delay as possible.

40Where a permittee is informed of damage caused by his operations and fails to take immediate action to repair the damage, the Minister may

(a) have the damage repaired; and

(b) require the geophysical licensee for whom the permittee was conducting the operations, in addition to any other penalty to which he may be subject, to be assessed the cost incurred in making the necessary repairs.

GENERAL

41(1)The Minister may order any crew operating under a geophysical licensee or under a permittee acting on his behalf to cease its operations if, in the opinion of the Minister, there has been a contravention of the Act or this Regulation.

41(2)The Minister may permit the crew to resume operations upon such terms and conditions as the Minister considers appropriate.

42Where notice is given by mail by the Minister under the Act or this Regulation, such notice shall be deemed to have been given on the third day after the date of mailing.

43Where notice is required to be given by the Minister under the Act or this Regulation, such notice shall be sufficiently given if delivered personally in writing to any person in charge of the operations for or on behalf of the permittee or geophysical licensee.

44This Regulation comes into force on January 1, 1987.

SCHEDULE A

Fees

(a)Geophysical Licence	$250

(b)Geophysical Licence Renewal	$ 25

(c)Geophysical Permit	$ 50

(d)Geophysical Permit Renewal	$ 25

SCHEDULE B

Security Deposit

The security deposit shall be ten per cent of the projected cost of the geophysical exploration program up to a maximum of $50,000 per program.

FORM 1

FINAL REPORT

Geophysical Licensee

Geophysical Licence No.

Address

Program Commencement Date

Completion Date

Permittee

Geophysical Permit No.Party No.

Address

Recording Commencement Date

Recording Completion DateModel

Amplifier Make

No. of Traces __________________

2448other

Source InternalReceiver Internal

Source Type

No. of kilometres of Subsurface Coverage

Credit (in dollars) Applied For

I, the undersigned, certify that I am qualified to report on this program and have knowledge of and attest to the accuracy of the above report.


Signature of geologist,		Date
registered land surveyor or
registered professional
engineer

(Note: Must be accompanied by a map or maps on a scale of not smaller than 1:50,000 showing location of data recorded. A final report must be completed for each program.)

N.B. This Regulation is consolidated to July 15, 2005.

86-191 - Oil and Natural Gas Act

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