Top 10 Abandoned Oil Rigs in The World

Hundreds of abandoned oil and gas structures lie in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans, threatening the marine environment and coastal settlements.

Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Companies usually abandon oil rigs when they are not valuable, if they dry up, or do not produce enough oil to generate profits. Bankruptcy is another reason. However, proper procedures must be followed when they are closed down for economic or environmental reasons.

Most offshore companies, thinking they will return in the future, partially decommission these structures, which has drastic implications for marine life. Oil rigs that are not adequately decommissioned can leak oil or gas into the oceans, which can be catastrophic for marine flora and fauna and impact the economy and local communities.

Natural elements like corrosion, damage from tropical storms and other forms of exposure turn them into timebombs, which can cause massive damage at any moment.

Let us look at the 10 abandoned oil rigs in this article.

1. Brent Spar

This floating rig in the North Sea was used as a loading buoy and oil storage tank until its decommissioning in 1991. It was built in 1976, was 482 ft high, and could store around 300,000 barrels of crude oil.

Shell U.K. operated it in the Brent Oil Oilfield, but it was of no use once a pipeline was connected to an oil terminal in Shetland.

The rig’s disposal method became a matter of concern after British authorities approved Shell’s decision to dispose of it in the Atlantic at North Feni Ridge, 250 km from Scotland’s west coast.

Environmental groups, like Greenpeace, organised many protests against the decision, which led Shell to abandon its plan.

Shell finally decided on onshore disposal, and the rig was temporarily moved to a Norwegian fjord. After that, it was dismantled, and much of the structure was reused to construct a new harbour close to Norway.

According to some reports, some of its parts disposed of on land also created environmental problems.

2. Elly Platform

This platform, built in 1980 by Royal Dutch Shell, is situated about 9 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach. In 2021, an oil spill occurred in Orange County, in which 144,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from a pipeline that ran from Elly to Port of Long Beach.

However, Elly has become one of Southern California’s most popular dive sites.

Once you explore the waters near the platform, you can see mussels, sponges, corals, sea lions, brittle stars, and anemones near its steel pilings.

People have also captured videos of at least four types of bioluminescent jellyfish, garibaldi, half-moons, and other types of rockfish near the Elly platform.

Due to the strong currents, diving here is advised for only experienced divers. One must also be safe while swimming among the dense steel structures underwater.

As more offshore platforms are decommissioned in the region, there have been discussions about leaving their underwater parts, which turn into artificial reefs, supporting marine flora and fauna.

3. MX-1 platform

The MX-1 oil platform retired in 2011 after operating for 20 years, and it has since become a sanctuary for marine life.

It is one of the many oil rigs along the north coast of Peru, owned by Petroperu. The platform faces removal, but organisations like the Coastal Marine Observatory oppose this.

It is anchored off Los Organos, and after being abandoned, it became home to 57 invertebrates and 26 fish species.

Its legs and other underwater surfaces are ideal for marine organisms. Its piles are moored to the seafloor and support different corals, algae, and invertebrate species.

Its position in warm waters where ocean currents meet has aided in creating a diverse marine ecosystem.

4. The Red Hawk

This spar was installed in the U.S Gulf of Mexico waters at a depth of 5300 ft. After a decade, in 2014, it was the only cell spar fabricated and made headlines as the deepest floating production facility to be decommissioned in the region.

It was designed to produce natural gas for two decades and had enough space to accommodate additional equipment to process oil in case of new discoveries.

Anadarko explored many options before decommissioning the facility before the expiry of their lease on the block in 2012. Reusing the facility was not deemed profitable, and the unit was constructed before the string of Category 5 hurricanes wreaked havoc in the Gulf of Mexico; hence, if it were to be repurposed, then major modifications would be needed.

Scraping the facility was also not an option. Hence, its topsides and other machinery were removed. It was then decided that the spar would be reefed in Eugene Island Block 384, off Louisiana. It has now become a flourishing marine life habitat.

5. Platform Holly

The Holly oil platform is situated off Santa Barbara, California. It became state property after its owner, Venoco, declared bankruptcy.

It stopped oil production in 2015 after the Refugio oil spill, which leaked 140,000 gallons of oil from an onshore pipeline which was also connected to the Holly platform.

The state took over the rig and has been working to stabilise and decommission it. All 30 of its oil and gas wells have been blocked, and it is being detached from the onshore facility. Its pipelines are being cleaned and flushed to remove any harmful residues.

The environmental impact report will be complete by 2025; however, for now, the rig is abandoned and rusty.

Chris Goldblatt, CEO of Fish Reef Project, asked officials to consider their work regarding marine life near the platform. He said completely removing it would kill millions of organisms living on its pilings. He suggested kelp restoration technology could increase the fish population near the pilings.

6. Hidalgo platform

This offshore oil and natural gas drilling rig is located in the Point Arguello field of Santa Maria Basin off the California coast in 500 to 600 ft waters. It was brought to the location in 1985 and began producing oil and gas in 1991.

The environmental assessment states that the platform will be decommissioned as it has reached the end of its economic life. Its wells will be plugged, and casings pulled out. Freeport-McMoRan owns the platform; however, it has not yet suggested decommissioning or removing it.

The process of closing its wells began in 2020, and its casings will be cut and loaded on Harvey Challenger to be unloaded at San Pedro Harbour for disposal. However, for now, it remains abandoned as work continues.

7. Kinsale Head

The Kinsale Area Gas Fields are situated in the Celtic Sea, around 30 to 70 km off the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. The fields include Seven Head, Kinsale Head, Ballycotton and South-West Kinsale, which were developed between the 1970s and 2003.

These fields were the only source of natural gas in Ireland until Shell developed the Corrib Gas Field in 2015.

They are operated by PSE Kinsale Energy, a subsidiary of Petronas. Due to declining gas reserves, plans are underway to decommission the fields and related infrastructure. The productive life of the wells was expected to end in 2020, and the decommissioning process of offshore facilities would take 2 to 3 years.

The offshore structures here lie in 90 m waters and consist of 2 steel-jacketed platforms, Kinsale Bravo and Kinsale Alpha, which began operations in 1978.

8. Balmoral Field Platform

Premier Oil plans to decommission the platform in the Blamoral field in the UK North Sea after production stopped in 2022.

The FPV was installed in 1986 and is a semi-submersible floating platform held by a mooring system of 8 chains linked to anchor piles.

It has accommodation facilities and equipment for processing hydrocarbons, which are then exported by pipeline.

The FPV will be moved to a quayside for reuse or decommissioning. Subsea installations will be taken to land for recycling, and pipelines will also be appropriately disposed of.

9. Brent Delta

The Brent Field, operated by Shell, had high production levels, meeting 10% of the UK’s oil and gas requirements in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was once the best-performing field in the North Sea.

However, production declined, and in 2006, it was decided to decommission the field and all related infrastructure.

This included four platforms with accommodation areas, drilling and operational areas, and a helipad. In 2017, the 24,200-tonne Brent Delta was the first platform to be removed by the biggest construction vessel, the Pioneering Spirit.

After seven years of preparation, the feat was achieved, and the platform was taken to a quay at Able’s Seaton Port in Hartlepool. Next, the Brent Bravo Platform was removed in 2019 in an operation that took only 4 hours.

10. Hutton Oilfield TLP

This oil field in the U.K. continental shelf lies in the East Shetland Basin in the North Sea. It was discovered in 1973 and is named after James Hutton, an 18th-century geologist.

Production in the field started in 1984 and stopped in 2001. The field produced 265 million bbl in its lifetime.

The TLP was designed to operate for 25 years at a 100—to 1000 m depth. It had 16 tension legs and weighed between 46,000 and 55,000 tonnes. It had 100 cabins, and only 40 people were needed to maintain the structure.

During decommissioning, Ker-McGee operated the field, and the TLP platform was removed for reuse. The floating platform was towed to Russia, and the topsides were taken by barge to a fabrication yard at Severodvins, where they underwent refurbishment.

Conclusion

Abandoned oil rigs can pose several problems after they are not properly disposed of. However, they can be quite useful as their underwater structure provides ideal conditions for the growth of coral reefs, fish and other marine life.

Many such rigs have become artificial reefs, one of which is platform Holly, which is mentioned in this article. The practice of converting rigs into reefs in the U.S. goes back to 1984 when Congress signed the National Fishing Enhancement Act.

The Act acknowledged the advantages of artificial reefs and encouraged the U.S States to transform defunct rigs into reefs. The States have rigs to reefs programmes, under which over 500 oil and gas platforms have been converted into reefs. These platforms have become popular recreational fishing and diving sites.

Reefing the platform is less expensive than removing the platform entirely and saves the company millions of dollars.

You might also like to read-

• 5 Biggest Oil Platforms in the World
• 15 Major Oil Rig Explosions At Sea
• What is an Oil Spill at Sea – The Ultimate Guide to Preventing and Cleaning Up
• 15 Major Oil Spills Of The Maritime World
• What is Tension Leg Platform (TLP)?

About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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