Modeling Structure Removal Processes in the Gulf of Mexico

At the end of 2003, there were nearly 4,000 structures in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) associated with hydrocarbon production: 2,175 active (producing) structures, 1,227 idle (non-producing) structures, and 505 auxiliary (never-producing) structures. Since 1947, when production in the GOM first began, over 2,200 structures have been removed from federal waters, and over the past decade, 125 structures on average have been removed annually. The purpose of this report is to describe the operational aspects of removal processes in the GOM and to develop a production-based model to forecast the removal of offshore structures.