‘Save the Blue’ seeks to protect platform-based ecosystems.

When the Macondo well blew out last year, much of the concern over the resulting oil spill was for the marine life in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast. The media was abuzz with speculation on the resulting destruction. Commercial fishermen were afraid that their catches would be covered in crude or, worse yet, non-existent. But if it was not for oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico, those commercial fishermen would probably be fishing somewhere else.

With the exception of the NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, there is very little hard bottom in the Gulf of Mexico, at least at depths that can support species that need sunlight. The offshore structures put in place by the oil and gas industry provide a habitat for corals, crustaceans, and fish that otherwise would not exist.

According to data compiled by John Hoffman, president and chief executive of Black Elk Energy, studies have indicated that 85% of the fishing trips offshore Louisiana target offshore platforms as their destination. The same study, commissioned by Louisiana State University’s sea grant college, indicates that there is 50 times as much marine life around a platform as there is in the surrounding mud bottoms. Louisiana produces one-third of the U.S.’s commercial fisheries. And most of the nation’s spear-fishing records have occurred near these structures.

Existing regulations do not take any of this into account once the platform has reached the end of its life. These structures are either expected to be completely removed, or they can be “reefed,” meaning that everything from the top of the platform to 80 ft (24.4 m) below the water line is removed. However, it is in those first 80 ft that much of the marine life lives.

“Taking out the structures in the Gulf is a greater ecological disaster than Macondo. The marine life within the Gulf relies on the vertical structures to access the sunlight necessary for a habitable environment. Without these structures, the marine life in the Gulf, and therefore the Gulf’s fishing industry, would be utterly destroyed,” Hoffman said.

This federally mandated forced removal is also potentially illegal. International treaties exist to protect certain endangered marine life, including certain types of corals, from destruction. The law is also practiced differently in California, where platform removal is prohibited.

A Better Solution

Hoffman proposes a fairly simple solution: Leave the jacket in place, remove the deck to minimize the risk of the platform being damaged in a hurricane, leave the lights and navigational aids in place, and maintain the anode systems. He estimated that it would cost about US $50,000 a year per platform to provide this maintenance, a minimal amount compared to the cost of decommissioning. For a long-term solution, Hoffman also proposes that a trust fund be established to help companies maintain the platforms. With the funds saved from decommissioning costs, companies could put money into the trust and eventually support these structures going forward basis.

“Long term, no company wants to have a liability. This I understand completely,” he said. “But at the end of the day you also have to do the right thing.”
 
Not all platforms have thriving ecosystems beneath them, so Hoffman proposes an environmental assessment to determine if removal will damage marine life. If there is no ecosystem, Hoffman has no problem with the standard form of removal.

The next step

Hoffman has received support from divers and fishermen, but he needs to get the attention of Congress before the law can be overhauled. He plans to travel to Washington, D.C., June 16 to visit with lawmakers and lobby for a change.

“I think when they created the law, they couldn’t conceive that corals would attach to the platforms and that fish would begin populating the area,” he said.

He added that a standard platform can provide two to three acres of living and feeding habitat. There are about 4,000 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, of which about 200 face decommissioning every year. While he hopes to appeal to the common sense of the congressmen and women he will be visiting, Hoffman also is prepared to take this initiative to the proper parties to make change happen. He fully intends to put the issue before a federal judge to get a ruling on the legality of destroying endangered species and violating international law.

“As a diver, I can see the beauty of what’s down there,” he said. “It makes absolutely no sense for the government to have this outdated law that will destroy all of this. I understand that it’s my job to inform them of what’s down there and make a difference.”

For more information about Save the Blue and to see a video of marine life beneath a Black Elk platform, visit http://www.blackelkenergy.com/blue/.

Contact the author, Rhonda Duey, at rduey@hartenergy.com.