February 20, 2013- The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) continues to work with interested stakeholders on the issue of decommissioning and converting offshore infrastructure into artificial reefs. BSEE, in partnership with other federal and state agencies including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard and the state of Louisiana, will hold the second in an ongoing series of stakeholder meetings tomorrow at the University of New Orleans. Stakeholders from the fishing, oil and gas, conservation and other related interests have all been invited to attend. The last stakeholder meeting was held on November 16, 2012 at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.
The meetings are in addition to ongoing correspondence and individual meetings BSEE has held with stakeholders to describe current decommissioning activities and the effects of a previously issued notice sent to all offshore operators about managing idle infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. In the wake of several destructive hurricanes between 2004 and 2008 that severely damaged or destroyed active and inactive oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, BSEE clarified existing regulations regarding the decommissioning of obsolete oil and gas facilities with a Notice to Lessees (NTL) in October 2010. The NTL provided a definition for 'idle' infrastructure and instructed companies to submit to BSEE their plans for permanently plugging wells and decommissioning associated facilities that had not been used in more than five years. These plans can include future use for the infrastructure, conversion to artificial reefs after certain topside and hazardous materials are removed and other requirements are met, or removal. The NTL did not call for a blanket removal of offshore infrastructure.
To effectively manage federal offshore areas, BSEE works with each operator to ensure that operations are conducted safely and in an environmentally responsible manner. This includes the oversight of inactive wells and platforms which are susceptible to the adverse effects of severe weather. As was the case during several recent hurricanes, these platforms can topple, causing significant environmental contamination (such as the release of hydrocarbons to the surrounding waters) while also damaging operating infrastructure and resulting in new navigation and safety hazards.
When an operator obtains a lease from the federal government they are required to commit to following federally mandated decommissioning activities. Offshore leases typically require the operator to remove seafloor obstructions, such as offshore platforms, within one year of lease termination, or prior to termination of the lease if either the operator or the Department of the Interior deems the structure unsafe, obsolete, or no longer useful for operations.
More information on the 'Idle Iron' NTL.
More information on decommissioning and Rigs to Reefs.
More information on the last stakeholder meeting.
