The Atlantic Canada Offshore Training and Qualifications Committee, working with the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, has extended the validity of training certificates and offshore medical certificates until July 31, 2021, due to the impacts of COVID-19.

To view the complete update, click here.

https://atlanticcanadaoffshore.ca/covid-19-update-on-training-and-medicals/

On April 27, 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) posted the report on their investigation into the occurrence that was experienced by a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter operated by Canadian Helicopters Offshore (CHO) as it approached the Thebaud platform on July 24, 2019.  The CNSOPB will ensure the TSB report is reviewed by petroleum companies prior to any future helicopter operations in the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area.

Please see notice:

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) is governed by an independent Board of Directors, which is comprised of provincial and federal appointees and a Board Chair. The Board sets the CNSOPB’s policies and programs through strategic, ethical and transparent lenses in the stewardship and regulation of offshore petroleum resources.

The CNSOPB welcomed Jim MacDonald as a Director in July 2020. Jim is a provincially appointed Director and brings decades of offshore experience to the table.

The Western Scotian Shelf and Slope Strategic Environmental Assessment final report is now available.

The Atlantic Canada Offshore Training and Qualifications Committee, working with the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, has extended the validity of training certificates and offshore medical certificates until March 31, 2021, due to the impacts of COVID-19.

To view the complete update, click here.

News Release
For Immediate Release

January 29, 2021

The CNSOPB is preparing a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Middle and Eastern Scotian Slope and Sable Island Bank areas of the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area.

SEAs are broad-scale studies that examine the environmental setting and marine environment to identify potential environmental effects and any related mitigation measures that may need to be considered if there is future oil and gas activity in the study area.

BP Canada Energy Group ULC (BP Canada) has notified the CNSOPB that it will forfeit its $2 million drilling deposit paid in 2020 and has paid a further drilling deposit of $3 million to extend Period 1 for an additional year. This additional drilling deposit extends the licence to the full nine years permitted by legislation and changes the expiry date of the licence to January 14, 2022.

What does this mean?

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) is governed by an independent Board of Directors, which is comprised of provincial and federal appointees and a Board Chair. The Board Chair is a jointly approved position to which Keith was appointed on August 17, 2015. The Board sets the CNSOPB’s policies and programs through strategic, ethical and transparent lenses in the stewardship and regulation of offshore petroleum resources. The CNSOPB’s primary mandates are safety of offshore workers and protection of the environment.

News Release
For Immediate Release

November 4, 2020

CANADA-NOVA SCOTIA OFFSHORE PETROLEUM BOARD (CNSOPB) INVITES WRITTEN COMMENTS ON DRAFT STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEA)

In January 2020, we held a 30-day commenting period on the Scoping Document for the Western Scotian Shelf and Slope SEA.

Business Continuity

On August 4, 2020, we launched a pilot program to return to our offices in Halifax and Dartmouth. To safely return to our workplace, we developed a plan, created new health and safety protocols and provided training to all staff. Following several weeks of testing our new COVID-19 health and safety measures, the majority of staff have now returned to our offices part-time to accommodate physical distancing and capacity reductions, while continuing to work the remainder of time remotely.