The newest types of offshore reefs are located in water depths of over 400 feet and are classified as Deepwater Reefs. The Deepwater Reefs are a product of where the oil and gas industry is moving – into deeper waters further from the coast. The longer distance from land results in higher decommissioning costs, thus more incentive to reef the materials.
Currently there are eight Deepwater Reefs, some of which are composed of multiple structures: Eugene Island 384, Garden Banks 236, Green Canyon 6, Mississippi Canyon 486, South Marsh Island 205, South Pass 89, Vermillion 395, and Vermillion 412.
Example Projects
Eugene Island 384
Eugene Island 384 “A” was an eight-pile jacket. The top of the jacket was removed to -90 ft and placed on bottom next to the base. Anadarko’s Red Hawk Spar (GB-876 “A”) was reefed in 2014. Redhawk was actually a floating facility. Once the deck was removed, the remaining hull was towed to EI-384 and placed on bottom.
Photos
Videos
In 2014, Anadarko became the first operator in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to successfully decommission a spar facility, giving the Red Hawk cell spar a new life as an artificial reef off the coast of Louisiana.
