EPAP References and Resources

Directives

Our new directive, Directive 076: Operator Declaration Regarding Measurement and Reporting Requirements  does not create any new requirements about measurement and reporting. All of those requirements can be found, as before, in the relevant directives, including the following:

• Directive 017: Measurement Requirements for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations
• Directive 007: Volumetric and Infrastructure Requirement
• Online Supplement to Directive 007
• Directive 046: Production Audit Handbook
• Directive 060: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring, Incinerating, and Venting
• Directive 049: Gas Density Measurement Frequency (Orifice Meters) 
• Directive 004: Determination of Water Production of Gas Well:
• Directive 019: ERCB Compliance Assurance—Enforcement
• Directive 042: Measurement, Accounting, and Reporting Plan (MARP) Requirement for Thermal Bitumen Schemes

Non-compliance Event Listing:

http://www.ercb.ca/docs/enforcement/EPAPNCEventsandRiskRatings.xls  (note, this is a listing of noncompliance events related only to Directive 076). For a comprehensive listing of all ERCB noncompliance events (including those related to Directive 076), please see below.

http://www.ercb.ca/docs/enforcement/riskassessednoncompliances.pdf  (note, this file is a comprehensive list of all ERCB noncompliance events. EPAP requirements apply to those which relate to Production Measurement and Reporting, which are found approximately a quarter of the way through the document, under "Field Surveillance and Operations Branch / Technical Operations Group".

Operator Handbook

To support Operator efforts to comply with the requirements of Directive 076: Operator Declaration Regarding Measurement and Reporting Requirements , the EPAP Operator's Handbook includes the following topics:

1. The expectations of the ERCB with regards to the level of assurance over compliance with ERCB measurement and reporting requirements.
2. What to consider in designing controls.
3. How to evaluate the effectiveness of controls.
4. How to maintain the design of controls to ensure their continued effectiveness in addressing risk of noncompliance relating to ERCB measurement and reporting requirements.
5. How to implement EPAP, and use it for continuous improvement, year after year.
6. How to interpret and use the Compliance Assessment reports to identify and track issues.
7. How to make your annual Declaration.

Download a PDF of the EPAP Operator's Handbook.

Using the EPAP System, for Operators

The EPAP System supports the Enhanced Production Audit Program (EPAP) of the ERCB.

The principal functions of the EPAP system are used by operators to

1. View and export their monthly Compliance Assessment Report.
2. Submit their annual declaration that describes an operator’s state of their controls over compliance with measurement and reporting requirements.
3. Collaborate with the ERCB Production Audit Team (PAT) on Action Items and Voluntary Self-Disclosures.

The EPAP system is also used by the members of the ERCB PAT to operate EPAP and to review operator submissions.

For assistance, download Using the EPAP System, for Operators. 

Specific requests for help in using the EPAP system can be sent to epapsupport@ercb.ca.

Presentations

Attached below are the presentations provided by the PAT during each of the monthly Information Sessions held for Industry.

Compliance Assessment Indicators and Reports - May 17, 2010
Understanding Controls - June 14, 2010
Evaluating Controls - July 12, 2010
Implementing EPAP - What to do - August 9, 2010
Declaration - Reporting EPAP Results - September 13, 2010

Introduction to EPAP is a PowerPoint presentation that operators are encouraged to download and adapt to the needs of their organization. The presentation describes EPAP and provides answers to many of the questions that are asked by operator staff when they are first introduced to EPAP. The presentation is an updated and consolidated version of the many presentations that ERCB staff has given at industry events during 2008 and 2009.

EPAP Industry Information Session is the PowerPoint presentation given by ERCB staff at the EPAP Industry Information Session on 20 January 2010.  Operators are invited to download and adapt the information to the needs of their organization. The presentation describes EPAP, provides guidance on control-based audit, shows an overview of the EPAP system and describes ideas for EPAP implementation.

Consolidated presentation for all EPAP panel members who presented at the CAPPA Conference held at the BMO Centre in Calgary, Alberta 21 October 2009

Resources

We are trying hard not to be prescriptive about how industry complies with our new directive. Our EPAP Operators' Handbook makes many suggestions, but you may also want to consult any of the following sources. Some may be accessible by subscription only.

Business/Technical  

• Production Audit: Most common ERCB Production Audit findings for 2008-09
• Production Audit: Most common ERCB Production Audit findings for 2004-05
• EPAP Declaration Reporting Themes (upated June 2011)- This document lists the EPAP Declaration reporting themes together with the mapping of each reporting theme to the related ERCB measurement and reporting noncompliance events.
• EPAP Compliance Assessment Report ACTIVE CAIs within the EPAP System (Oct 28-11)
• EPAP Compliance Assessment Categories - This document describes all of the compliance assessment categories that a given compliance assessment indicator can be associated with. (updated June 2011)
• The Petroleum Registry of Alberta Monthly Reporting: Volumentrics http://www.petroleumregistry.gov.ab.ca/PR98.asp
• CAPPA: http://www.cappa.org   
• IMG: http://www.imggroup.ca/  
• Canadian School of Hydrocarbon Measurement : http://www.cshm.ca/portal/  
• Enform: http://www.enform.ca/  
• Petroleum Accountants Society of Canada (PASC): http://www.petroleumaccountants.com/  
• Petroleum Joint Venture Association: http://www.pjva.ca/
• Petroleum Registry of Alberta - PRA Home http://www.petroleumregistry.gov.ab.ca/PR.asp  

General Audit Awareness  

• Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA): http://www.theiia.org   
• IIA Calgary Chapter: http://www.theiia.org/chapters/index.cfm/home.page/cid/72  
• Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA): http://www.isaca.org   
• ISACA Calgary Chapter: http://www.isaca-calgary.org    
• Audit Net: http://auditnet.org   
• Knowledge Leader: http://www.knowledgeleader.com/

Audit Tools  

• Control Self Assessment Tools: http://www.knowledgeleader.com
• Introduction to a control framework: http://www.coso.org/documents/COSO_Guidance_On_Monitoring_Intro_online1.pdf