Directive 065: Resources Applications for Oil and Gas Reservoirs ...

1.3 Application for a Common Carrier Order
1.3.1 Background
The Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA) affords each owner the opportunity of obtaining
its share of the production of oil or gas from any pool and provides for economic, orderly,
and efficient development in the public interest. Accordingly, the ERCB may issue a
declaration of a common carrier of oil, gas, or synthetic crude oil under Section 48 of the
OGCA.
The common carrier provisions of the OGCA cannot be used to gain access to an oil battery,
as indicated in the ERCB letter of October 26, 2005, respecting Application No. 1398650.
1.3.2 When to Make This Application
A typical situation that would warrant the filing of a common carrier application with the
ERCB would be when an owner of a capable well has a market for its gas and has made
arrangements to have the gas processed at a nearby plant. Its analysis shows the existing
gathering system to be the only economically feasible way, the most practical way to
transport the substance in question, or clearly superior environmentally for transporting its
gas to the processing plant. However, the owner has been unsuccessful in negotiating an
agreement on reasonable terms to use the existing pipeline. The well owner has recourse to
apply for the declaration of a common carrier in order to obtain its share of gas from the pool.
1.3.3 Terms of Application
An order under Section 48 of the OGCA obliges each common carrier, among other things, to
transport production without discrimination as between any of the owners for whom
transportation is provided. Thus, a common carrier order would allow an owner to share in
the existing capacity of the pipeline.
Under Section 56 of the OGCA, an applicant filing a common carrier application has the
option of requesting that the common carrier order be effective retroactively to the date of the
application. The ERCB considers such a request in light of the particular situation and has the
discretion to grant the request, deny it, or provide some measure of retroactivity other than
what was requested.
In order to give effect to a common carrier order, an applicant filing a request for the
declaration of a common carrier under Section 48(1) of the OGCA also has the option to
request that the ERCB direct
• the point at which the common carrier shall take delivery of the production
(Section 48(4)(a)), and
• the proportion of production to be taken by the common carrier from each producer or
owner offering production to be gathered, transported, handled, or delivered by means of
a pipeline (Section 48(4)(b)).
ERCB Directive 065: Resources Applications / Common Carrier (October 2011) • 1-13