Our operations and properties are subject to numerous existing laws, rules and regulations governing our interactions with the environment that are enacted by U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial, territorial, tribal, and municipal governments (collectively, "Environmental Regulations"). Environmental Regulations impose, among other things, restrictions, liabilities and obligations in connection with (a) discharges and emissions of various substances into the environment; (b) the hydraulic fracturing of wells; (c) the handling, use, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of chemicals, hazardous substances and waste associated with finding, producing, transmitting and storing oil, NGLs and natural gas; (d) the availability and management of fresh, potable or brackish water sources that are being used, or whose use is contemplated, in oil and natural gas operations; and (e) requirements that well sites and other properties associated with our operations be constructed, operated, maintained, abandoned and reclaimed to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities. In addition, certain types of operations, including new exploration and development projects and certain changes to existing exploration and development projects, may require the submission and approval of environmental impact assessments or permit applications. Expenditures required to institute and maintain compliance with new or existing Environmental Regulations can be significant. Failure to comply with Environmental Regulations may result in substantial clean-up and remediation costs arising from damaged or contaminated properties, the imposition of significant fines and penalties by regulators and costly litigation or administrative proceedings. Examples of recently proposed and final Environmental Regulations or other regulatory initiatives include the following:
Emissions - Greenhouse gases (which include, among other things, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and various fluorinated gases; "GHGs") are typically emitted throughout all phases of the oil and natural gas supply chain, including production, transportation, processing, refining and storage operations. Additionally, although beyond our control, end user consumption of oil and natural gas in activities such as power generation and motorized transportation also results in GHG emissions. In the United States, the EPA under the Biden Administration determined that GHG emissions present a danger to public health and the environment and has adopted Environmental Regulations that, among other things, restrict GHG emissions and require the monitoring and annual reporting of GHG emissions from specified sources. For example, in 2024, the EPA finalized the New Source Performance Standard Subpart OOOOb, which will impose more stringent methane and volatile organic compound emission standards for new, modified or reconstructed sources in the oil and natural gas industry. The EPA also finalized New Source Performance Standard Subpart OOOOc, which create, for the first-time, emission guidelines for existing oil and natural gas sources included in individual states' implementation plans. These Subpart OOOOb and OOOOc standards expand upon previously issued New Source Performance Standards, Subpart OOOO and Subpart OOOOa published by the EPA in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Furthermore, in November 2022, the BLM proposed regulations limiting the waste of natural gas from venting, flaring and leaks during operations on existing and new federal and tribal leases. In addition, in August 2022, former President Biden signed the IRA creating a first-ever, phased-in methane fee (also known as the waste emission charge) that applies to certain oil and gas facilities. The first anticipated methane fee is due in 2025 for reporting year 2024. These and other Environmental Regulations that went into effect under the Biden Administration may be modified or reversed under the Trump Administration.
In December 2023, the Government of Canada published draft amendments to the federal regulations respecting reduction in the release of methane and certain volatile organic compounds concerning the upstream oil and gas sector. If implemented, the amendments would require the oil and gas sector to achieve a 75 percent reduction in methane emissions from 2012 levels by 2030. The draft amendments would, among other things, prohibit flaring and venting with limited exceptions, require high levels of equipment efficiency and require inspections for all producing and non-producing wells. Alberta and British Columbia have equivalency agreements in place with the Government of Canada, such that the current federal methane regulations generally do not apply in these provinces. However, in the event that the draft amendments are passed, regulatory changes in Alberta and British Columbia may be required to maintain equivalency. Publication of the finalized amendments is expected in 2025 and new requirements would come into force between 2027 and 2030. In December 2023, the Government of Canada announced plans to implement a national emissions cap-and-trade system for GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector through regulations to be made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 ("CEPA"). The cap-and-trade system is expected to be phased in between 2026 and 2030 and apply to, among other things, all direct GHG emissions from upstream oil and gas facilities, while also accounting for indirect emissions and emissions that are captured and permanently stored. It is currently proposed that the 2030 emissions cap (which will inform the number of emission allowances issued to regulated facilities) will be set at 35 percent to 38 percent below 2019 emission levels. The regulatory framework was published in December 2023 and was open for comment until February 2024. The draft regulatory framework was published in November of 2024 and the Government of Canada has stated it will continue to deliberate to inform the final regulations, which will be published in 2025.
In June 2024, the Government of Canada passed amendments to the Competition Act which outlined new provisions aimed at preventing greenwashing. These provisions require that companies be able to substantiate environmental claims made to promote a product or business interest. The Competition Bureau released draft guidelines in December 2024 to provide clarity on compliance, and they are open for comment until the end of February 2025. This may increase Ovintiv's exposure to claims of greenwashing by third party organizations.
On January 1, 2023, material amendments to Alberta's Technology, Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation ("TIER") came into force. The amendments align TIER with Canada's federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, provide price certainty and seek to address a potential surplus of provincial carbon credits in the coming years. As a result of the amendments, flaring emissions are now included in the total regulated emissions for the Company's aggregate oil and gas facilities that are subject to TIER.
In British Columbia, the government released a series of GHG reduction intention papers that target methane emissions, carbon pricing mechanisms, permitting of new infrastructure and mechanisms to cap future emissions. These proposed mechanisms include: an oil and gas sector emissions cap to achieve a 33-38 percent reduction in emissions below 2007 levels by 2030; the requirement for all new, large industrial facilities to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 (2030 for LNG projects) showing how they align with interim 2030 and 2040; and, a new Output Based Pricing System for large industrial emitters to ensure equivalency with the federal carbon pricing regime. Implementation will likely take effect on April 1, 2024. While Ovintiv's proactive approach to electrification in our Montney operations will shelter its exposure to the Output-Based Pricing System, there is the potential for additional burden associated with the other proposed policy items.
The U.S. and Canadian federal governments, along with several provincial and state governments, have also announced intentions to adhere to certain international protocols regarding GHG emissions and regulate GHGs and certain air pollutants. In addition to federal action, many state and provincial officials have stated their intent to intensify efforts to regulate GHG emissions, including methane, from the oil and natural gas industry. These governments are currently developing and/or implementing regulatory and policy frameworks to deliver on their announcements. For example, in Canada, the Government of Canada (a) has committed to cutting Canada's net GHG emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 in accordance with its pledge under the Paris Agreement; (b)is gradually raising the federal carbon tax to C$170/tonne CO2e by 2030; and (c) has announced its intention to impose a hard cap on GHG emissions from the oil and natural gas industry, seek to reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry by 75 percent below 2012 levels by 2030 and ensure GHG emission reductions are on a pace and scale sufficient to reach net-zero by 2050. In November 2021, the Unites States, Canada, and other countries entered into the Glasgow Climate Pact, which includes a range of measures designed to address climate change, including but not limited to the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, reducing methane emissions 30 percent by 2030, and cooperating toward the advancement of the development of clean energy. Similar regulatory and policy framework efforts were committed to at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in late 2023. We actively participate in certain provincial industrial emission programs offered by both Alberta and British Columbia that allow for the generation of offsets and other rebates to incentivize emission reduction projects and mitigate carbon tax costs. We expect to continue to be able to utilize these provincial programs in the future to migrate our carbon tax costs.
Hydraulic Fracturing Operations - Certain governments in jurisdictions where we do not currently operate have considered or implemented moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing until further studies can be completed and some governments have adopted, and others have considered adopting, Environmental Regulations that could impose more stringent permitting, disclosure and well construction requirements on hydraulic fracturing operations or result in an outright ban of hydraulic fracturing in oil and natural gas operations.
Seismic Activity - Some areas of North America are experiencing an increased frequency of localized seismic activity which has been associated with oil and natural gas operations. Although the occurrence and risk of seismicity in relation to oil and natural gas operations is generally very low, it has been linked to the underground disposal of produced water and, in some instances, has been correlated with hydraulic fracturing activities. This has prompted legislative and regulatory initiatives intended to address these concerns. These initiatives have the potential to (a) require additional seismic monitoring; (b) restrict the volume of produced water injected in certain disposal wells; (c) restrict the injection of produced water in certain underground formations; and (d) modify or curtail hydraulic fracturing operations in certain areas.
The cost and effects of complying with existing and emerging Environmental Regulations (including those with respect to emissions, hydraulic fracturing operations and seismic activity) and proposed carbon taxes are not currently anticipated to be material to our operations, however federal, state, provincial and local regulations and programs are either under development or in the early stages of implementation and we are unable to accurately predict the total future impact of such regulations and programs. Increased Environmental Regulations and/or carbon taxes could (a) materially increase our cost of compliance and other operating costs; and/or (b) impede or prevent development of our oil, NGLs and natural gas assets, reducing (i) the amount of oil, NGLs and natural gas we are ultimately able to produce from our reserves and (ii) our overall quantity of oil, NGLs and natural gas reserves. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.