Offshore decommissioning issues: Deductibility and transferability

Parente, Virgínia; Ferreira, David; Santos, Edmílson Moutinho dos; Luczynski, Estanislau

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2005.02.008

Cited by 90 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Management decisions will need to be made regarding (i) the fate of the thousands of platforms that will become economically obsolete over the coming decades (15,16), and (ii) both the design and policy related to the construction and deployment of offshore renewable energy structures in the marine environment (21)(22)(23). Because human activities are threatening fish populations on natural reefs globally (52,53), understanding the biological productivity of artificial structures is even more critical in terms of conservation of marine resources.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally

Claisse

Pondella

Love

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

218

165

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Secondary (i.e., heterotrophic or animal) production is a main pathway of energy flow through an ecosystem as it makes energy available to consumers, including humans. Its estimation can play a valuable role in the examination of linkages between ecosystem functions and services. We found that oil and gas platforms off the coast of California have the highest secondary fish production per unit area of seafloor of any marine habitat that has been studied, about an order of magnitude higher than fish communities from other marine ecosystems. Most previous estimates have come from estuarine environments, generally regarded as one of the most productive ecosystems globally. High rates of fish production on these platforms ultimately result from high levels of recruitment and the subsequent growth of primarily rockfish (genus Sebastes) larvae and pelagic juveniles to the substantial amount of complex hardscape habitat created by the platform structure distributed throughout the water column. The platforms have a high ratio of structural surface area to seafloor surface area, resulting in large amounts of habitat for juvenile and adult demersal fishes over a relatively small footprint of seafloor. Understanding the biological implications of these structures will inform policy related to the decommissioning of existing (e.g., oil and gas platforms) and implementation of emerging (e.g., wind, marine hydrokinetic) energy technologies.secondary production | ecosystem-based management | ecosystem services | energy technology | Sebastes

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The decommissioning of the >7,500 oil and gas platforms around the world (15,16) is an unavoidable issue. Understanding the potential effects of the different decommissioning options on the biology of fishes living in such habitats will be important information to consider in the process.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally

Claisse

Pondella

Love

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

218

165

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Decommissioning may be carried out by any one of four methods: complete removal, tow-and-place, partial removal (i.e., "topping"), or toppling (laying the structure on its side; Schroeder and Love, 2004;Macreadie et al, 2011;Fowler et al, 2014). Globally, more than 7000 oil and gas platforms distributed over 53 countries (Parente et al, 2006) will need to be decommissioned in the coming decades.…”

Section: Decommissioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Application of Long-Lived Bivalve Sclerochronology in Environmental Baseline Monitoring

Steinhardt¹,

Butler

Carroll

et al. 2016

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Assessments of the impact of construction, operation, and removal of large infrastructures and other human activities on the marine environment are limited because they do not fully quantify the background baseline conditions and relevant scales of natural variability. Baselines as defined in Environmental Impact Assessments typically reflect the status of the environment and its variability drawn from published literature and augmented with some short term site specific characterization. Consequently, it can be difficult to determine whether a change in the environment subsequent to industrial activity is within or outside the range of natural background variability representative of an area over decades or centuries. An innovative approach that shows some promise in overcoming the limitations of traditional baseline monitoring methodology involves the analysis of shell material (sclerochronology) from molluscs living upon or within the seabed in potentially affected areas. Bivalves especially can be effective biomonitors of their environment over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. A rapidly expanding body of research has established that numerous characteristics of the environment can be reflected in morphological and geochemical properties of the carbonate material in bivalve shells, as well as in functional responses such as growth rates. In addition, the annual banding pattern in shells can provide an absolute chronometer of environmental variability and/or industrial effects. Further, some species of very long-lived bivalves can be crossdated back in time, like trees, by comparing these annual banding patterns in their shells. It is therefore feasible to develop extended timeseries of certain marine environmental variables that can provide important insights into long temporal scales of baseline variability. We review recent innovative work on the shell structure, morphology, and geochemistry of bivalves and conclude that they have substantial potential for use as monitors of environmental variability and the effects of pollutants and disturbance.

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“…There are currently > 7500 structures built for the hydrocarbon industry (e.g. rigs, platforms, hereafter 'oil structures') located in offshore waters, ~85% of which will become obsolete and require decommissioning within the next decade (Parente et al, 2006). Most nations require complete removal of obsolete structures, which presents substantial engineering challenges and is estimated to cost the oil and gas industry in excess of 40 billion USD (Salcido, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multi-criteria decision approach to decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure

Fowler

Macreadie

Jones

et al. 2014

Ocean & Coastal Management

151

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Article (refereed) -postprintFowler, A.M.; Macreadie, P.I.; Jones, D.O.B.; Booth, D.J.. 2014 A multi-criteria decision approach to decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Ocean & Coastal Management, 87. 20-29. 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2013 Contact NOC NORA team at publications@noc.soton.ac.ukThe NERC and NOC trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.A multi-criteria decision approach to decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure AbstractThousands of the world's offshore oil and gas structures are approaching obsolescence and will require decommissioning within the next decade. Many nations have blanket regulations requiring obsolete structures to be removed, yet this option is unlikely to yield optimal environmental, societal and economic outcomes in all situations. We propose that nations adopt a flexible approach that allows decommissioning options to be selected from the full range of alternatives (including 'rigs-to-reefs' options) on a case-by-case basis. We outline a method of multi-criteria decision analysis (Multi-criteria Approval, MA) for evaluating and comparing alternative decommissioning options across key selection criteria, including environmental, financial, socioeconomic, and health and safety considerations. The MA approach structures the decision problem, forces explicit consideration of trade-offs and directly involves stakeholder groups in the decision process. We identify major decommissioning options and provide a generic list of selection criteria required for inclusion in the MA decision process. To deal with knowledge gaps concerning environmental impacts of decommissioning, we suggest that expert opinion feed into the MA approach until sufficient data become available. We conducted a limited trial of the MA decision approach to demonstrate its application to a complex and controversial decommissioning scenario; Platform Grace in southern California. The approach indicated, for this example, that the option 'leave in place intact' would likely provide best environmental outcomes in the event of future decommissioning. In summary, the MA approach will allow the environmental, social, and economic impacts of decommissioning decisions to be assessed simultaneously in a transparent manner.

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Offshore decommissioning issues: Deductibility and transferability

Cited by 90 publications

References 4 publications

Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally

Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally

The Application of Long-Lived Bivalve Sclerochronology in Environmental Baseline Monitoring

A multi-criteria decision approach to decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure

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