The BC Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC) is getting a makeover, a new name, and a new remit that reflects the energy transition – one that includes regulatory oversight over hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The BCOGC is responsible for regulating oil and gas development and production in B.C., including natural gas processing and pipelines and liquefied natural gas plants. It is also responsible for geothermal energy development.

The B.C. government today introduced legislation to amend the Oil and Gas Activities Act (OGAA) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act (PNGA) to include hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage in the commission’s regulatory mandate.

And it will be given a new name: the BC Energy Regulator. The idea is to create a central regulatory body for would-be hydrogen developers.

“While a patchwork of legislation and regulations exists, there is currently no cohesive regulatory framework for hydrogen production in British Columbia,” the ministry said in a press release.

Energy and Mines Minister Bruce Ralston said he recently attended a hydrogen conference in the U.S., which is moving quickly to promote clean energy, including a hydrogen industry.

“There are a series of very strong fiscal incentives that have been put in place by the American government to push hydrogen forward,” Ralston told BIV News. “
We want to be competitive. We want to make sure that our regulatory process is as simple and as transparent as possible. We want to have one clear place to go, and we have the expertise in the oil and gas commission.”

“Hydrogen BC and its parent organization, the Canadian Hydrogen, and Fuel Cell Association, strongly support the province’s intent to create a single-window regulator for low-carbon hydrogen development in British Columbia,” said Matthew Klippenstein, executive director of Hydrogen BC.

“Project proponents will be able to work on different regulatory requirements concurrently instead of consecutively, helping our members bring more projects - and more jobs, and more emissions reductions - forward, quicker.”

Amendments to the OGAA and the PNGA will “clarify the use of underground storage space in British Columbia” for carbon capture and sequestration projects.

“The proposed legislation clarifies the government’s right to explore for, access, develop and use underground storage space for specific substances, including under private land,” the ministry says in a backgrounder.

Hydrogen can be made from water and electricity – hydrolysis – or from natural gas. The latter generates CO2. But when the CO2 is captured and either used or permanently sequestered underground, hydrogen made from natural gas is considered to be “blue” or carbon neutral.

Ralston said the new regular will be responsible for regulating both forms of hydrogen production.

nbennett@biv.com