Summary/Abstract
This paper discusses the legal regimes of natural gas storage in Canada. The paper identified methods of developing legal and regulatory frameworks for natural gas storage in the context of carbon capture and storage (CCS). In addition to the economic costs of developing a CCS infrastructure, the legal and regulatory aspects of CCS present significant challenges for potential CCS operators. The study considered legal and regulatory analogies for CCS injection and containment operations, including enhanced oil recovery (EOR), acid gas disposal, waste disposal, and natural gas storage. Property, regulatory, and liability issues were discussed. Recommendations were presented in relation to ownership and storage or disposal rights; the treatment of holdout problems where storage and disposal rights are privately owned; disposition rules for government-owned storage and disposal rights; resource sterilization; and regulation. The federal government’s role in the context of CCS projects was also discussed.