Announcement - May 28, 2009

Clarifications to the recent release of ERCB Directive 047: Waste Reporting Requirements for Oilfield Waste Management Facilities

Commencing with the March 2009 reporting period Directive 047 requires specific types of oilfield waste management facilities to report to the Petroleum Registry of Alberta (Registry).  A number of items were needed to be implemented to allow the March 2009 submissions to be received at the Registry.  The following updates to the reporting requirements are as follows:

1. Produced sand being sent from production facilities to oilfield waste management facilities will auto-populate from the waste plant to the production facilities as ‘water’.  Spill clean-up (e.g., soil contaminated with production fluids) being sent to oilfield waste management facilities will be auto-populated back to the generating location as ‘water’.  Therefore, to prevent a report imbalance at the generating location, it needs to report a receipt of the volume of spill material using the code ABWM.  The ABWM code has not yet been implemented and for the interim use the ABMC code.
   
2. The ERCB reminds all oilfield waste generators to use the correct facility/well ID code for the generating location of the oilfield waste.  Should the generating location be linked to another reporting facility, it is the facility ID code of the reporting facility that must be used.  The ERCB reminds oil and gas licensees that the requirements set out in Directive 030: Digital Data Submission of the Annual Oilfield Waste Disposition Report must still be met.
   
3. Any oil and gas facility that consumes fuel gas is required to have fuel gas measurement or a meter for the entire site; if there are other facilities on site (e.g., CT, TM, etc.) they are to be recorded separately by estimates and should add up to the meter reading.  For oilfield waste management facilities, where there are multiple reporting facilities on the site one number is required for the entire site; fuel gas receipt is an auto-population functionality by the fuel gas supplier.
   
4. Directive 047 Appendix 3 details the ERCB Waste Codes and Names; this will be updated to include any changes or additions to the codes.  Note that EMTCON1 through EMTCON8 code will be compressed to EMTCON.
   
5. Oilfield waste management facilities accepting freshwater [FSHWTR] must account for it on the Waste Plant Submission statements.  Initially the creation of a waste location (ABWL) was required but it has been determined the use of the existing freshwater sources (ABWS) within the Petroleum Registry may be used rather than ABWL.
   
6. The ERCB reminds all oilfield waste management facilities required to report using the Waste Plant Submission as detailed in Directive 047 that there is information available on the Petroleum Registry web page (http://www.petroleumregistry.gov.ab.ca/) under:

• Tips & Alberta (Volumetric Reporting February 18/09 Volumetric Reporting Changes Caused by New Waste Plant Reporting), 
• What’s New (Oilfield Waste Management Facility Submission Readiness Package), and 
• Resource Centre (Job Training Aids – Monthly Reporting – Volumetric: Edit/Validation Rules Related to Waste Plant Data Submissions in the Petroleum Registry of Alberta).