New Opportunities for Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms – Efficient, Effective, and Adaptable Facilities for Offshore Research, Monitoring, and Technology Testing

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Marine Monitoring, Energy and Environmental Research, Science Education, and Training (MMEERSET) project, which consists of converting one or more offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) into (an) offshore research, monitoring, and technology testing station(s). The GoM is a hub of national energy security with nearly 2,100 operational oil and gas platforms. However, as energy exploration and production moves to deeper depths in the Gulf, older platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are being decommissioned and provide a prime opportunity for repurposing to meet a broad spectrum of needs identified in numerous regional and national reports. Federal regulations (30 CFR S.250.1725) require that offshore platforms either be removed and salvaged or repurposed into a state’s approved Rigs to Reefs Program (with more than 500 platforms in the GoM repurposed as artificial reefs to date) within one year of well shut down. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 also provides for “alternative uses” for existing oil and gas platforms in federal waters. With the wave of decommissioning and widely-documented needs for efficient and effective offshore infrastructure, repurposing these platforms through the MMEERSET project can help fulfill the following priorities: a) meet research needs identified in numerous regional and national reports; b) utilize an existing regulatory framework in the Energy Policy Act of 2005; c) support President Trump’s 2018 Executive Order on Ocean Policy emphasizing sustainable uses of the oceans; and d) make business sense for the energy industry that owns the platforms. The MMEERSET will capitalize on the opportunity to convert existing, adaptable offshore infrastructure in the GoM. It is a nascent model project, which makes a business case, can be used to inform future efforts, and can provide the foundation of a network of converted offshore structures for research, monitoring, education, training, and technology testing. As development continues, additional stakeholder interest and support is welcome.