Oil and gas well sites, plant sites and related facilities: a guide for companies

​​​This article is intended to provide oil and gas companies with information on the assessment process for petroleum property within British Columbia.​​

​​Property Class

BC Assessment (BCA) places properties into nine classes, based on the property's type or use. Within BCA's classification, most well sites, plant sites and related facilities fall into Class 4 – Major Industry. Some related facilities depending on the use of the property will fall into Class 2 - Utilities or Class 5 – Light Industrial.

Valuation

Improvements on a well or plant site are valued as industrial improvements under Section 20 of the Assessment Act. Improvements are valued in accordance with the Major Industrial Properties Cost Manual that sets out rates, formulas, rules, or principles for the calculation of the cost of replacing an existing industrial improvement. Depreciation rates and principles for the application of depreciation are prescribed by BC Reg. 53/2016 Depreciation of Industrial and Electrical Power Generating Facility Improvements Regulation​.

Land for well and plant sites are valued using market rates. Well sites vary in size from the historically typical well-site area of 3.558 acres with one well to larger sites that may contain multiple wells where the size may range between 4 - 25 acres. Areas do not include access roads or off-site pipeline rights of way. In cases where a survey plan is tied to a specific well site, the surveyed size of the well site is used in the land calculation.

Pipelines are valued using legislated rates as prescribed by BC Reg. 203/86 Railway and Pipeline Corporations Valuation Regulation. The valuation of pipelines is determined by classification, size and length of the pipe. The rates for pipelines are updated on an annual basis. ​

How do BC Assessment and the BC Energy Regulator work together?​

The BC Energy Regulator (BCER) works under the mandate to provide a single-window agency to streamline the regulatory processes and expand stakeholder consultation. The BCER is responsible for regulating oil and gas activities in British Columbia, including exploration, development, reclamation, and pipeline transportation. BC Assessment (BCA) determines the market value and correct classification of over 2 million properties in British Columbia, including oil and gas properties. This valuation is then used by local governments to calculate annual property taxes. Data for BCA's valuation of petroleum properties comes from a variety of sources, including site inspections and the BCER registry.

Operator/ownership changes​

With regard to properties held in fee simple: e.g. registered tenure properties held under title:

• Ownership changes are made only when a new title is received from the Land Title and Survey Authority
• The petroleum company must initiate conveyance
  

For all other leasehold properties, the petroleum company must make a written request to BCA, and include the following details:

• Effective date of the operator/ownership sale or transfer
• Corporate name, address and postal code of company to which specific roll numbers that are being sold or transferred
• List of all assessment roll numbers to which sale or transfer applies
• Should ownership change apply to more than one company, e.g. subsidiaries, please specify
• Please ensure that you copy in the company, to which the listed roll numbers are being sold or transferred
• Change of operator/ownership requests to be submitted throughout the year as they occur
  

Address changes

The petroleum company must make a written request to BC Assessment to include the following details:

• New address, postal code, telephone number, fax number, email address, web address, etc.
• Should address change apply to more than one company, e.g. subsidiaries please specify.
• Change of address requests to be submitted throughout the year as they occur.
• Please forward a copy of your submission to BC Energy Regulator (BCER) (further contact information details provided at the end of this sheet). 
  

Inventory and/or production status changes

Any company wishing to advise the assessor of changes in inventory and/or production status of any given location may do so on an ongoing basis.

Addition Reports should include:

• Assessment roll number and legal description
• Description of items added
• Date the item was physically placed on the site (DD-MM-YYYY)

Deletion Reports should include:

• Assessment roll number and legal description
• Description of items removed
• Date that item was physically removed from the site (DD-MM-YYYY)
• Destination of the removed item. If the item is being moved to another petroleum facility, please specify the location.

Production Status Reports:

• ​Changes in production status should be reported in compliance with the appropriate calendar dates for the roll year to which production status changes are being contemplated.​

Address changes

Wells that are officially abandoned are deleted from the assessment roll. Any request to remove an abandoned well from the assessment roll must:

• Be in writing to BC Assessment
• Include documentation to support the abandonment  
• A BC Energy Regulator (BCER) Abandonment Completion/Workover Report – BCER Form 24 must be provided in order to have an abandoned well removed from the assessment roll
• Where a well has been physically abandoned but the surface lease tenure of the property remains in place, the land will remain assessable to the leaseholder until such time that the surface lease tenure is cancelled and the Assessor is notified
• When no support documentation is provided, no remedial action is taken by the Assessor​
  

Reclamation and restoration of site

Under legislation administered by the BCER, when a well site is no longer required, the tenured petroleum company which operates the well site must reclaim the site in order for a Certificate of Restoration to be issued. Before the Certificate of Restoration (COR) is issued on land within the Agricultural Land Reserve, a post-site assessment must be approved by the provincial Agricultural Land Commission. This assessment determines if the soil, topography and vegetation are restored to their original, or better-than-original, condition. As part of the application for a COR, a Landowner Release form, signed by the landowner, must be submitted. Site inspection by BCER staff may be conducted prior to the issuance of a COR.

Closure allowance – Plants and Pipelines

Any request for a closure allowance with regard to BC Reg. 53/2016 Depreciation of Industrial and Electrical Power Generating Facility Improvements Regulation or BC Reg. 203/86 Railway and Pipeline Corporations Valuation Regulation must:

• Be in writing to BC Assessment by November 30
  
• Date specific to closure allowance for Plants only
• Include documentation to support the specific c​​​​losure allowance request
• Where no support documentation is provided, no remedial action is taken by the Assessor

Learn more: ​​Closure allowances for Major Industrial and Electrical properties​

Key dates

July 1 - Valuation Date
October 31 - Physical State, Condition & Permitted Use Date
November 30 - Land Title and Survey Authority Reference Date
November 30 - Written Request for Closure Allowance
December 31 - Completed Assessment Roll - notices mailed
January 31 - Appeals to Property Assessment Review Panel deadline; Appeal of Regulated Rates
April 7 - Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP) Decision Notices​
April 30 - Appeals to the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB​

​Learn more about BC Assessment's key dates.

Contact information

BC Assessment - bcassessment.ca

For assessment information pertaining to the petroleum industry production, processing and pipeline facilities, please contact petroleum@bcassessment.ca.

BC Energy Regulator – bc-er.ca

For technical information concerning facilities and pipelines including:

• BCER Facility and Pipeline Applications and Operations Manuals
• Facility and pipeline application and documentation requirements​​​