Cougar turned into artificial reef

For nearly 40 years, Shell oil’s Cougar 3,000-ton metal platform in the Gulf of Mexico pumped oil and gas from the bottom of the Gulf. The structure was recently converted into an artificial reef off the coast of Louisiana, and will serve as habitat for marine life. Cougar was installed in 1981; and had produced about 31M barrels of O&G, according to Theodore Rolfvondenbaumen, Shell’s external relations advisor. The platform was decommissioned, and the deck and topside were brought back ashore, and the frame was donated to the state’s Artificial Reef Program, which provides marine habitat, and benefits O&G firms by reducing the cost of barging equipment ashore. Shell has converted at least three platform structures into artificial reefs, he told NOLA.com. (Source: NOLA.com 02/15/18)