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

How to Use This Directive
Introduction
Directive 065 details the process to apply to the Energy Resources Conservation Board
(ERCB) for all necessary approvals to establish the strategy and plan to deplete a pool or
portion of a pool using one resource application. Previously, the requirements were mainly
found in Part 15 of the Oil and Gas Conservation Regulations.
This directive also enables you to review in a single document the application requirements
and the explanations for those requirements for most conventional oil and gas reservoir topics
considered in an application for ERCB approval. “Must” indicates a requirement for which
compliance is required and is subject to ERCB enforcement, while “recommends” indicates a
best practice that can be used but is not an ERCB requirement and does not carry an
enforcement consequence. The ERCB will conduct periodic reviews of this directive’s
continued usefulness for applicants and conduct updates based on feedback received and reengineering
reviews.
Specific resource applications are required to allow the ERCB and potentially affected
parties, often with competing interests, to understand and test the appropriateness or impact
of depletion plans at critical milestones. Other resource applications may address revisions to
the baseline set of depletion or equity rules and reservoir descriptions. Some resource
applications address known equity disputes arising from different ownership, limited
opportunity to produce, or access constraints to established facilities. If such issues are not
resolved, these applications go directly to a hearing.
The ERCB reviews all resource applications to ensure that the appropriate level of reservoir
engineering and geological science is applied in managing poolwide depletion and that
potential impacts on other stakeholders are identified and dealt with fairly. Because
individual reservoirs are unique, detailed assessments may be necessary to ensure that the
depletion plan is appropriate and recovery is in the public interest. You must provide
sufficient up-front information and analysis to support the reasonableness of your
applications.
The ERCB has compiled this comprehensive directive to support a level playing field for all
applicants. Applicants are expected to know and understand requirements and file accurate
and complete applications. ERCB staff will not complete missing application requirements,
such as raw data collection and supporting analytical discussion. Instead, ERCB staff will test
assumptions, check completeness and accuracy of data and assessments, and test alternatives.
What This Directive Contains
This directive includes Resources Applications – Schedule 1 registration form, guidelines on
notification requirements, and seven units that address detailed information requirements for
specific regulatory topics, as well as appendices giving reference sources and other support
information.
Applicants must prepare the following resources applications using the on-line Schedule 1
form. This will provide the ERCB with key information about the applicant, the type of
application, the area of application, and details of notice to potentially affected parties
undertaken by the applicant.
The resources applications for which this directive applies are divided into units as follows:
1) Equity: rateable take, common purchaser, common carrier, common processor, and
ERCB Directive 065: Resources Applications / How to Use This Directive (October 2011) • 5