(Arena, 11.Jan.2024) — Arena Energy, LLC, an independent oil and gas exploration company focused on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, recently established an artificial reef site at South Marsh Island 192, which is located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico approximately 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
The South Marsh Island 192 A platform (SMI 192A) was installed in 1996 in 399′ of water. After producing oil and natural gas for almost 25 years, the wells were plugged and removed in 2022 and the production facilities were removed the following year. The upper 95′ of the underwater structure was detached and the lower 300′ of the structure remains in the water.
In Sep. 2023, Arena conducted an underwater survey of the reefed structure and found a thriving ecosystem of fish and coral living on and around the structure. If this platform had been retired by traditional methods, the marine habitat would have been destroyed. Currently, only about 1,500 platforms remain on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf of the almost 7,000 that were installed over the last seventy-five years.
Brent Ozenne, CEO of Arena Offshore, LP, said “The industry is removing fifty to eighty structures a year and some of these marine ecosystems that could be preserved are being lost. This was a great opportunity to work with the State of Louisiana and our partners in the federal government to preserve an existing marine ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico.”
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