Some Cook Inlet oil platforms have sat unused for years. This reporter decided to find out why.

A specialized portion called a jackup rig, astatine left, drilled a earthy state good past twelvemonth astatine Hilcorp’s Tyonek platform, right, successful Cook Inlet. (Nathaniel Herz for Alaska Public Media)

There are 17 offshore lipid platforms successful nan waters of Cook Inlet, not acold from Anchorage.

But did you cognize that six of those aren’t moreover pumping oil? That includes 1 level that’s been unopen disconnected for much than 30 years. The authorities has nan powerfulness to unit nan institution that owns nan defunct platforms to dismantle them, but that hasn’t happened.

Nat Herz is an investigative journalist moving pinch Alaska Public Media and APM Reports, and he decided to fig retired why nan platforms are still there.

Listen:

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Casey Grove: So, 1 of these platforms hasn’t pumped immoderate lipid since nan first President Bush was successful agency — that’s George H.W. Bush — backmost successful 1992. What’s nan communicative pinch that?

Nat Herz: Yeah, I don’t cognize astir you, but I was hardly live astatine that time. So, that’s called nan Spurr Platform. It’s astir 50 miles westbound of Anchorage successful Cook Inlet, a small northbound of Nikiski. It was built successful Alaska’s first lipid boom, successful nan 1960s, when astir 2.5% of each nan lipid pumped successful nan U.S. came retired of nan Inlet area. But by nan 1990s, Spurr was losing money, and its proprietor decided to unopen it off. So a apical authorities lipid and state regulator told nan institution it was going to request to commencement nan process of tearing it down and cleaning up nan area.

CG: It’s been much than 30 years and Spurr is still there. What happened?

NH: This is according to nan state’s general correspondence pinch Marathon, which owned nan level astatine nan time. It conscionable benignant of backed down, and beautiful quickly, pinch nary explanation. It took 15 much years earlier nan authorities yet started to put immoderate unit connected nan company. But that each sewage put connected clasp erstwhile Marathon sold its liking successful Spurr to a institution called Hilcorp. Hilcorp now owns each but 2 of nan platforms. And nan authorities gave it years much to study reviving Spurr. Finally, past year, Hilcorp acknowledged that Spurr and its companion level were nary longer usable for lipid production. But it still says nan infrastructure could beryllium useful successful nan future, and it doesn’t want to return it retired yet.

Read nan afloat story: This lipid level stopped pumping 30 years ago. Alaska still won’t make nan proprietor tear it down.

CG: Why do nan companies look truthful reluctant to tear down these platforms?

NH: The short reply is rate money dollars. It is expensive. Removing each nan platforms and related instrumentality could costs successful nan vicinity of a cardinal dollars. That’s cardinal pinch a B. And truthful nan companies want to debar doing that for arsenic agelong arsenic possible. Richard Charter is an environmentalist who’s been pushing for nan removal of nan defunct lipid platforms successful nan Gulf of Mexico and disconnected nan California coast, and he says nan companies person tally a akin strategy there.

Richard Charter: Well, successful nan rule terminology, I deliberation it’s delay, contradict and diddle around.

NH: In nan Gulf of Mexico, lipid companies person convinced nan authorities to fto them time off immoderate derelict level infrastructure successful place. They based on that this worldly is residence for marine life. The authorities went on pinch it, but they made nan lipid companies walk on half of nan money they saved to nan taxpayers.

CG: So what person lipid companies said nan Cook Inlet platforms mightiness beryllium bully for?

NH: Hilcorp and Marathon and nan different companies that person owned Spurr and nan different platforms person been throwing ideas for reuse for decades.

They’ve based on that nan platforms’ elephantine legs thief break up crystal successful nan inlet, and that makes it easier for cargo vessels to navigate. They’ve said nan Coast Guard aliases subject could usage them for investigation aliases training. Or they could beryllium utilized for renewable powerfulness production: upwind farms aliases possibly immoderate benignant of cutting separator tidal powerfulness generation.

CG: Has immoderate of that really happened?

NH: Well, it sounds for illustration they do break up nan ice, but not successful position of reusing nan platforms for immoderate caller purpose. At slightest not yet.

It is existent that Cook Inlet is simply a awesome spot to perchance make powerfulness from nan tides. And truthful Hilcorp has been moving pinch nan University of Alaska to stitchery information and research nan idea. The institution is besides studying nan conversion of platforms for upwind power. But it’s acold from clear that each of nan platforms, aliases moreover immoderate of them, will activity to do this connected an business scale. 

CG: Is location immoderate existent problem pinch leaving these platforms successful nan h2o for that long?

NH: That’s really nan cardinal dollar mobility here. They are surely an eyesore, astatine this point. They’re beautiful rusty and dilapidated, and they beryllium successful an different strikingly beautiful place, Cook Inlet. But from a purely biology perspective, there’s not excessively overmuch of a consequence of illness aliases leaks straight from nan platforms. That’s based connected nan experts that I’ve talked to, moreover immoderate who thin to beryllium critics of nan lipid industry.

The bigger rumor is astir financial protections. Imagine a situation, for illustration a spill aliases a blowout wherever an lipid institution is financially stressed aliases bankrupt. That intends they don’t person entree to nan beautiful important magnitude of money that’s needed to propulsion platforms out. The authorities has agreements pinch Hilcorp and different companies that require them to person a definite magnitude of money guaranteed for infrastructure clean-up. But it’s only a fraction of nan estimated wide cost, and nan authorities won’t opportunity precisely really much.

CG: Where does this each guidelines now?

NH: So, things are decidedly starting to get person to wherever nan authorities steps successful to unit Hilcorp to commencement nan process of removal. It’s giving nan institution 5 years to spot if it tin travel up pinch repurposing plans for immoderate of nan defunct platforms. Otherwise nan authorities says Hilcorp needs to person nan removal process started wrong 5 years aft that.

The authorities besides says it would beryllium bad argumentation to push connected this rumor excessively difficult correct now. That’s because of nan shortage of earthy state to power homes and businesses successful Anchorage. That state is produced successful ample portion by these offshore platforms, and officials don’t want to time off companies pinch little rate to put successful drilling much state wells.

CG: Did Hilcorp person overmuch to say?

NH: They did not work together to an interview. But they did opportunity that this existing infrastructure successful Cook Inlet is captious successful ensuring it meets its earthy state proviso commitments. And it says it makes important investments to safely and responsibly decommission end-of-life infrastructure.