A New Rewilding Paradigm: NEBA-CA Case Study of an End-of-Life North Sea Oil Platform

Victoria LG Todd*, Dianne McLean, Sean van Elden, Áine Thomas and Ian B Todd

Some offshore Oil and Gas platforms act as mini de facto Marine Protected Areas, supporting diverse marine ecological reef communities. Many policies mandate the removal of most O&G infrastructure at the end of its operational life, potentially harming marine species and removing critical habitat. One unexplored notion is that repurposed offshore platforms could be considered (and/or augmented) as ‘nature-in-design reefs’ in a variation of the ‘rewilding’ context, which involves restoring the complexity of food webs, natural disturbances, and the spread of ecosystems so that they need minimal human intervention in the long term.

In 2017, as part of a Net Environmental Benefit Analysis Comparative-Assessment procedure, the subsea ecological importance and optimal jacket cut-off depth of a 34-year-old North Sea platform scheduled for decommissioning were assessed using incidentally collected Remotely Operated Vehicle imagery data.

Species presence, richness, diversity, and vertical distribution were analysed, and 33 taxa across ten phyla were identified, with 23 taxa at species level. Species assemblages varied significantly with depth; algae, mussels, and serpulid polychaetes were abundant in shallow waters, while anemones and soft corals, were prevalent at depths of 15–100 m. Commercially important fish species were found predominantly below 70 m. Optimal jacket cut-off depth was recommended to be 15 m below Lowest Astronomical Tide.

This research demonstrated the extensive diversity of native and protected species on an ageing North Sea oil platform and takes the first step in considering the potential environmental, societal, and economic net benefits of decommissioned platforms in the context of a rewilding paradigm.

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Published on: Jul 5, 2025 Pages: 22-38

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/alo.000020
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