Canadian securities regulators are proposing a series of changes to the disclosure rules for energy companies, in an effort to modernize these requirements, improve disclosure, and make the rules more flexible.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Thursday announced proposals to reform the disclosure rules for oil and gas firms, which the CSA says “are designed to improve and clarify the disclosure of oil and gas reporting issuers.”
In the notice setting out the proposed changes, the CSA says that the proposed amendments “constitute an important evolutionary shift” in these disclosure requirements “that will promote better disclosure of resources other than reserves and associated metrics while at the same time providing for increased flexibility for oil and gas reporting issuers that report in a variety of different locations worldwide, recover different oil and gas product types and operate under different regulatory regimes.”
The CSA says that its proposals are based on both the regulators’ observations of reporting issuer disclosure, and industry feedback.
Among other things, the proposals would: allow firms to make disclosure prepared under an alternative resources evaluation system; require additional disclosure of contingent and prospective resources; introduce a principles-based approach to the disclosure of oil and gas metrics; and, clarify the point at which sales of oil and gas, and resources should be disclosed.
“Canada has developed and must maintain one of the most effective and efficient oil and gas disclosure regimes in the world,” said Bill Rice, chair of the CSA and chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC). “These proposed amendments are an important shift in the disclosure requirements applicable to public oil and gas companies that will promote better disclosure of resources other than reserves and other numerical measures of oil and gas activities.”
The proposals are out for public comment until January 17, 2014.