Modernizing Liability For Offshore Oil & Gas Explorations And Operations

This past June, the government of Canada announced plans to implement legislative changes to the four principle Acts which govern oil and gas activities in the Atlantic offshore and Arctic: the Canadian Petroleum Resources Act (CPRA), the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA), the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act, and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act (otherwise known as the Accord Acts). The federal and provincial governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador will be amending offshore regulations for oil and gas exploration and operations to include:

• Raising absolute liability for companies operating in the offshore to $1 billion from $30 million;