(photo courtesy of Versabar)
In the exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and minerals (sulfur), offshore structures must be built on or into the seafloor. Operators are required to return the seafloor back to its original state once they have completed their operations. To satisfy this requirement, decommissioning operations employ a wide range of activities that oversee any topside removal (decking and structure above the waterline), seafloor severing, component lifting and loading, site-clearance verification work, and final transportation of the structure back to shore for salvage or to an alternate site for reuse or conversion to artificial reef.
BOEM will analyze all of the applicable activities related to decommissioning operations as a single proposed action. Detailed information dealing with the specific description of structure types, target locations, severing technologies, possible self-mitigation, sediments, and biological conditions will be evaluated in site-specific environmental assessments prepared for subsequent removal-permit applications.
At this time BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region is preparing a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for Decommissioning Activities on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This PEA updates our 2005 PEA on the same subject (OCS EIS/EA MMS-2005-013) and serves as the basis for a new consultation with National Marine Fisheries Service under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
At completion the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will rely on this PEA for a new rulemaking for decommissioning activities under MMPA to replace the previous rule that expired on July 19, 2013. The PEA will include, but is not limited to, the severance and removal of bottom-founded installations on the OCS, their transport to shore, and under some circumstances artificial reefing of selected structures.
As we scope the PEA, we invite you to submit questions to the email address below.
Email: BOEMDecommPEA@boem.gov