The paper focuses on two recent significant international pieces of legislations concerning chemicals: one enacted in the European Union (EU), the other in Canada. Although independently developed, they have a common goal to approach chemicals through a comprehensive chemical management plan, rather than through fragmented pieces of previous regulations, which have proven limited in their effectiveness. A particular concern of both regulations are untested man-made chemicals, present in commerce for more than two decades without prior testing for their deleterious effects on human health and the environment. They are called "existing chemical substances".These new regulations discussed in the paper are: a) in the EU -the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of CHemicals (REACH), in effect since June 1, 2007; and, b) in Canada -the regulation promulgated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999, referred to as CEPA 1999, in effect since September 2005 [1,2,3,4]. The scope and the scale of influence of these regulations on international business and global chemical trade are unprecedented in the history of chemicals regulations, as further explained.This paper describes objectives and general features of these regulations, as well as anticipated business impact. Even though the parties directly involved are chemical manufacturers and importers of chemicals, the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry will also be subject to the regulations as a downstream user* (DU), obliged to participate in the development of chemicals' management plans along the supply chain. There are two critical business aspects to be concerned with: a) Timely participation in all phases of the regulations is necessary in order to avoid additional costs; b) Access to the affected chemicals in order to ensure an uninterrupted business.

On 1 June 2007, a new era of chemical regulations began. The European Union (EU) consolidated approximately 40 pieces of existing chemical legislation and transformed them into one comprehensive chemical regulation called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals). This new approach to chemical management puts a greater burden on importers and manufacturers. It also changes how the oilfield and gas service industry conducts business in not only the EU but also in the global chemical products marketplace. For the oilfield and gas service industry, REACH poses significant challenges requiring the reexamination of current practices in the import and manufacturing of oilfield service products. The regulatory requirements go far beyond the function of the HSE manager. Continuous interaction between the business functions of supply chain, logistics, HSE, IT, trade control, product development, sales and marketing, legal, and field operations is imperative to comply with this complicated, vastly encompassing piece of legislation. Lessons learned during the pre-registration phase in 2008 offered a clearer perspective on future registration requirements under REACH and have necessitated the reevaluation of chemical formulations in oilfield service products. This effort also requires the development and implementation of an ongoing chemical management system that continuously tracks the import and manufacturing of chemical substances found in numerous oilfield service products. Additional variables further complicate this tracking of substances are legal entities, management of chemical suppliers, communication between internal databases, and protection of confidential business information. This paper shares the process currently being developed and implemented by an oilfield services company towards compliance with REACH.

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