A Literature Review on Site Suitability and Structural Hydrodynamic Viability for Artificial Reefs Purposes

Abstract

In Malaysia, over 400 oil and gas platforms are in operation. In every life cycle of a platform, it undergoes decommissioning. The most used method is by relocating the asset to an onshore fabrication facility. The alternative to onshore decommissioning is by reefing structures in-situ or ex-situ basis. to achieve the environmental assurance of a successful decommissioning by reefing, two domains of parameters were overviewed. the study involved hydrodynamic simulation of platforms. The first domain is in relations to the site to determine its suitability against hosting marine life and thriving coral formulation (Site Suitability). the other domain is in relations to the structure's physical and hydrodynamic properties (structural viability). Site suitability is governed by water depth and current velocity. Structural viability is governed by two sub-domains, one is where dimensions and complexity of the structure are assessed using dimensionality analysis. And the other is its hydrodynamic properties (Vortex Shedding Frequency, Pressure, Wake Region indices).