Gulf Offshore Oil Platforms

[Scott Poe]

I see there are thousands of abandoned oil platforms in the gulf of mexico. Is it okay for sailboats to tie off to these rigs and spend the night?

[tamicatana]

Do so at your own risk, with emphasis on risk. People tie off to them all the time to fish for a few hours, sure.

Picture this: you tie off to the platform. The wind shifts, you blow up against the platform, your rig tangles in it and things go all pear shaped. Not only is your boat now messed up, you will receive a bill from the operator for the damage you cause to the platform.

[Lake-Effect]

Question from someone who hasn't yet visited the Gulf, and knows beans about these platforms... aren't the operators supposed to take abandoned ones out and scrap them properly?

(apologies for any ensuing political/ecological derails)

[Scott Poe]

There are various stages of abandoment. Some of them look like live working rigs and others nothing more than a pole sticking out of the water (some without any lights). Scary at night.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Scott Poe

There are various stages of abandoment. Some of them look like live working rigs and others nothing more than a pole sticking out of the water (some without any lights). Scary at night.

Maybe it's like driving through Kansas and Oklahoma. All sorts of small oil wells there, completely untended, just pumping away ...

[Sailmonkey]

Just looking like crap and nothing more than a pipe rising from the sea does not make them abandoned. There are thousands of caisson type platforms out there in shallow waters that are nothing other than a postage stamp atop a pipe. You can tie to them, but can be damaged and can be held responsible for damages.

The law states that any well is to be plugged and abandoned and well casing is to be cut off below the mudline, along with the surface structure removed after a predetermined period of no production. In practice, it's more difficult, especially when you consider the number of orphan wells that exist. These are wells where the path of ownership is cloudy, or there have been several bankruptcies....etc.

[bobconnie]

As folks say above, they are great to tie to to fish, but not to good to try to spend any great amount of time at ! If ya are gonna go in the areas they are mostly in at night ya better have a working radar!! Most of us really don't want them to be cut off below the mud line cus they have over time become great places for fish to breed and should really be treated as Reefs now as thats what they have become with all the under water sea growth ! There are plenty of ways through these wells ! ya need to do a little more chart looking ! just my 2 cents! if ya are gonna tie to any of them be sure they are not manned, as some of the ones working with folks on board get all POed at that ! so if ya tie to a un manned one somebody needs to be on watch !! all the time you are there!!!