Page 33: of Marine News Magazine (August 2, 2012)

from vessels that allided with or struck submerged oil- platform legs.? Andre Franques said many removals are needed, particularly in Louisiana. ?BSEE has worked with oil and gas producers and Louisiana?s Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, which manages a rigs-to-reef program. Oil and gas companies take advantage of it for its cost savings and other bene ts. They leave the jackets in the water to be used for reef for  sh.? Oil companies and a number of environmentalists support reef programs but only a fraction of the Gulf?s discarded rigs have been reefed so far. Franques insists, ?In the past, oil companies could get away with leaving structures in the Gulf or could stretch out their removal costs for long periods of time. There was little accountability for abandoned structures. Obama has tried to clean that up. You don?t leave junk to accumulate in your front yard at home and you don?t want to leave in the Gulf either.? The BP spill changed the rules and heightened awareness about safety but didn?t crush the spirit of those working on the coast. ?I?m optimistic about Gulf oil and gas but it will have to adapt as activity and emphasis moves from shallow to deeper water,? Bisso said. ?That shift will take time. Even the newest deepwater leases sold in the most recent lease sale will take 10 to 15 years to develop.? And that means that the offshore Gulf will continue to support local economies and provide meaningful jobs for quali ed operators. It?s a good news story for everyone. ?It?s important to distinguish between salvage and decommissioning. Decom-missioning a rig or platform is a planned event, known well in advance as there is a government obligation to decommis-sion the platform within Þ ve years of no longer producing ? Therefore, decom-missioning is really all about the lowest-cost solution to removal.? ? Greg Detiveaux, VP of business development at Crowley?s solutions group www.marinelink.com