Canada Energy Regulator’s 2024-25 Annual Report of Activities Under the Northwest Territories’ Oil and Gas Operations Act

ISSN 2816-7694

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Designations / Appointments
• Delegations
• Applications and Decisions
• Operating Licences Issued
• OGOA Compliance Verification Activities
• Incident Response
• Sampling Requests and Requests for Information
• Relationships with Other Regulators
• Guidelines and Interpretation Notes

Overview

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) is pleased to present the 2024-25 Annual Report of activities under the Northwest Territories’ Oil and Gas Operations Act (OGOA). Pursuant to the OGOA, the CER is required to submit an annual report to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment of the Government of the Northwest Territories (NWT).

As part of its duties and responsibilities, the CER regulates oil and gas exploration and production in the onshore portion of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in the NWT under the OGOA. The Commission of the CER has a key role in making decisions under the OGOA. The Commission is independent in its adjudicative role and is established under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. The Commission’s primary role under the OGOA is to adjudicate oil and gas exploration and production projects. The Commission is comprised of seven full-time Commissioners appointed by the Governor in Council, including the Lead Commissioner and Deputy Lead Commissioner.

Designations / Appointments

Under section 4 of the OGOA, the Chief Executive Officer has the authority to appoint a Chief Safety Officer and a Chief Conservation Officer.

In 2024-25, the following designations were in effect:

• Iain Colquhoun, Professional Leader, Engineer, as Chief Conservation Officer and Paula Futoransky, Vice-President of Energy Adjudication, to act in his absence.
• Keith Landra, Professional Leader, Safety, as Chief Safety Officer and Claudine Bradley, Technical Leader, Research and Innovation, to act in his absence.

On 26 June 2024 the Chief Executive Officer approved the designation of:

• Jess Dunford, Vice-President of Field Operations as an alternate Chief Conservation Officer.
• David Paynter, Group Leader, Safety and Damage Prevention, as an alternate Chief Safety Officer.

Delegations

The Commission did not make any new delegations during the 2024-25 fiscal year. The delegation to the Chief Conservation Officer and their alternate(s) of certain powers under the OGOA (including the authority to issue operating licences, authorizations and well approvals), remained in effect in 2024-25. These delegations have been in place since the original Commission delegation under OGOA in 2021.

Well approvals under the NWT’s Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Regulations are also captured under the delegation order.

Applications and Decisions

The CER did not receive any applications under the OGOA in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Operating Licences Issued

The CER, as Regulator under OGOA, granted seven companies annual operating licences under paragraph 10(1)(a) of the OGOA during 2024-25. A list of all current operating licence holders is posted on the CER website, and in Open Government.

Operating licences are administrative documents that do not permit any activity on their own. They are a prerequisite to performing any work or activity under the OGOA (which would also require the necessary authorizations).

The following table lists oil and gas companies whose activities in the onshore portion of the ISR are regulated by the CER under the OGOA:

OGOA Compliance Verification Activities

The CER undertakes its responsibilities under OGOA in a manner that complies with the Act’s purpose which includes ensuring that oil and gas activities are conducted in a manner that ensures the safety of people, the protection of the environment, and the conservation of oil and gas resources. Companies must identify, evaluate, and mitigate hazards and risks associated with their operations throughout the lifecycle of facilities. To verify compliance with regulatory requirements, the CER employs a risk-based approach to compliance verification and enforcement. Where operations present a higher potential for harm to persons or the environment, we apply enhanced oversight, including engagement, inspections, audits, and enforcement measures as necessary.

In 2024-25, the CER conducted the following compliance verification activities^Footnote 1 under the OGOA:

• four information exchange meetings;
• one emergency response exercise; and
• one incident response report review.

In addition to routine daily production report reviews, various compliance verification activities were engaged in the ongoing regulatory oversight of Utility Group Facilities Inc.’s Ikhil gas production operations and the construction activities of the Inuvialuit Energy Security Project.

Incident Response

Companies must be prepared to respond to an emergency. The CER verifies that a company can respond effectively by evaluating emergency response exercises and assessing contingency plans, including emergency response procedures and associated training, and confirming that plans provide for coordination with relevant territorial and federal emergency response plans.

The CER is a signatory to the NWT-Nunavut Spills Working Agreement (Agreement). The Agreement, updated in November 2024, promotes response coordination and continuous improvement of pollution preparedness activities in the NWT and Nunavut. The CER continues to actively engage and contribute to the work of the Spills Working Group, which focuses on supporting and advancing the objectives of the Agreement.

The CER received 11 incident reports and five reports of near misses in the ISR during the 2024-25 fiscal year^Footnote 2. None of these events were classified by the CER as an emergency.

The CER partnered with the NWT’s Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations (OROGO) for the evaluation of an emergency response exercise in Inuvik in May 2024. No non-compliances were observed.

Sampling Requests and Requests for Information

There were no requests made to the CER to sample well materials (cuttings, fluid samples and/or core samples) related to wells located in the Mackenzie Delta this fiscal year. The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) supervises the removal of samples. Well materials are stored at the GSC core facility in Calgary, Alberta. Researchers, companies, and academics use these historical well materials or samples in various studies and analysis. Copies of reports generated from the study or analysis of well materials are later sent to the CER and can be obtained by the public.

The CER library received and responded to 17 OGOA-related public information requests and nine requests to access materials in the Frontier Information Office.

Relationships with Other Regulators

The CER recognizes the importance of maintaining strong working relationships with regulators and other partners in the North. CER staff continue to meet regularly with the NWT’s OROGO and with Industry, Tourism and Investment’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Division to examine opportunities for improving regulatory coordination and efficiency. The CER and the OROGO hold monthly bilateral information exchange meetings to examine opportunities for joint compliance verification and emergency management exercises, as well as to discuss regulatory initiatives such as the development of new regulations and guidance materials under the OGOA. The OROGO and CER have an active Service Agreement and regularly work together on applications and compliance verification activities.

The CER actively participates in various informal and formal meetings related to its regulatory responsibilities in the ISR. For instance, in 2024-25, CER staff attended the annual Government of the NWT’s Petroleum Units meeting. This meeting involves collaboration and information exchange between the OROGO, the CER, and the Government of the NWT’s Geological Survey Department and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Department.

The CER actively participates in the NWT Board Forum which fosters collaboration and communication among regulators and resource management organizations in the NWT.

Guidelines and Interpretation Notes

Date modified:

2025-05-14