Artificial Reefs: Oases for Marine Life in the Gulf[1]
Whether it’s an operating oil and gas (petroleum) production platform or a retired platform intentionally placed for conservation and fisheries enhancement, a typical 4-pile platform jacket (the underwater support structure of an offshore platform) provides 2-3 acres of living and feeding habitat for thousands of underwater species.
That’s a good thing, because the natural bottom of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is a flat plain, comprised of mud, clay and sand with very little natural rock bottom and reef habitat. Without the platform and other artificial reefs, fish and other marine life typically would become widely dispersed, far from ideal conditions for commercial fishing and recreational fishing and diving.
Invertebrates and plants attach to petroleum platforms within weeks of their placement in the marine environment. Within a year, the platform can be completely covered with plants and invertebrates, attracting mobile invertebrates and fish species, and forming a highly complex food chain.
Petroleum platforms function as completely new places to live; niches for countless animals. In addition to harboring many species of fish, these platforms serve as hunting grounds for quick moving fish that live in the open ocean, such as mackerel and tuna. These fish species use the steel platform reefs as places to grab a quick meal, as areas to rest where the platform structure weakens or deflects currents, and as places to hide from species that may prey on them. Marine researchers have reported fish population densities to be 20 to 50 times higher at oil and gas platforms than in nearby open water. Each platform can serve as a critical habitat for 10,000 – 20,000 fish, many of which are of recreational and commercial importance.
Retired petroleum platforms are required to be removed from the marine environment and taken to shore for disposal within one year from termination of the oil and gas lease. An alternative to onshore disposal is the conversion of retired platforms to permanently submerged artificial reefs, i.e. Rigs-to-Reefs (RTR).
Three methods for removing and reefing a platform are used in the RTR process.
- Platform Tow and Place
- Platform Topple in Place
- Platform Partial Removal
At the end of 1998, 1,715 platforms were retired from oil and gas production, 128 of the retired platforms were donated and permanently dedicated as RTR for fisheries enhancement. Recreational charter boat captains, fishermen, and divers from across the Gulf have all firmly established oil and gas platforms and RTR as the most popular offshore fishing and diving destinations in the GOM.
The use of retired and obsolete oil and gas platforms for reefs has proved to be highly successful. State governments, the oil and gas industry, and the commercial and recreational fishermen, have all been beneficiaries of RTR. Their large numbers, availability, stability, and durability has made offshore oil and gas platforms and RTR the largest artificial reef complex in the world.
[1] Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement,