Idle Iron Decommissioning Offshore California and the Need to Amend Reefing Legislation

Abstract This paper describes the operating status of oil and gas platforms offshore California and factors inhibiting the timely decommissioning and removal of aging oil and gas infrastructure. The paper further highlights the environmental, safety, and financial risks created by delayed decommissioning. A major factor contributing to the delay in decommissioning California platforms is the lack of a functional artificial reefing program. This, and the lack of west coast materials disposal facilities having the capability to offload and process the topsides and jackets of large platforms, creates a situation that forestalls decommissioning. This paper discusses impediments to reefing platforms under the California Marine Resources Legacy Act (CMRLA) which was enacted in 2010 and allows on a case-by-case basis, the partial removal of a federal OCS platform jacket and the conversion of the remnant jacket in-situ to an artificial reef managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. To spur decommissioning, the authors recommend changes to the act to facilitate the reefing of platform jackets and encourage timely removal of aging offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The reefing of a single large deepwater platform jacket would preserve critical habitat for fish and invertebrate communities and generate tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in savings per platform 85 percent of which under CMRLA would be devoted to coastal marine preservation and enhancement projects.