GOA Decom Pathfinder

Across the Gulf of America, offshore decommissioning rarely sits inside one rulebook.

One project can cross federal OCS, state waters, marine transport, coastal approvals, waste controls and reef programs.

Take Morpeth, in Ewing Bank, offshore Louisiana. In 2021, Balder removed Eni’s tension-leg platform, including its 2,650 short-ton topside and 2,500 short-ton hull.

The topside travelled by barge. The hull was wet towed. Tendons and piles travelled on supply vessels. These different streams went to Modern American Recycling Services facilities at several US locations.

For a project like this, the offshore removal starts with BSEE’s decommissioning requirements under 30 CFR 250, Subpart Q. The removal method and environmental effects matter.

Coming ashore adds another jurisdictional interface. Louisiana’s submerged-land jurisdiction generally extends three nautical miles; Texas’s extends nine. This is a seabed jurisdiction boundary, not a switch that turns vessel regulation off.

The marine movement also needs its own review of Coast Guard vessel, towing and navigation requirements. Crossing into state waters adds state interfaces while relevant federal obligations can continue.

At the receiving yard, the material and activity determine the next controls: federal and state waste requirements, radiation controls if naturally occurring radioactive material is present, and applicable worker-safety standards for dismantling.

Now consider Lena, in Mississippi Canyon. Its jacket was toppled in place in July 2020 to create an artificial reef. That documented outcome takes the structure down a different approval pathway.

Reefing brings together BSEE’s removal-waiver review, the state artificial-reef program, a Corps of Engineers Section 10 permit, and Coast Guard navigation requirements. A state-sponsored reef can still sit in federal waters.

So the lift is only one part of the plan. Location, removal method, material and destination change what must be checked, which authorities are involved, and how the decisions need to connect.

The questions arrive early: what applies, who leads, and what comes first?

GOA Decom Pathfinder turns complexity into a structured, source-backed pathway for planning and review.

This fictional example screens a federal OCS platform, wells and pipeline for a Louisiana reef route.

Guided questions capture location, assets, removal intent, materials and shorebase choices.

The answers are tested against basin-specific pathway logic, not a generic checklist.

Results group likely agencies, approvals, evidence, timing and next actions around the project.

Teams see one pathway without rebuilding the regulatory screen from the beginning.

This is not a black box.

Each match explains why it appeared, which facts triggered it, and which official sources support the reasoning.

That trace gives project, legal and regulatory teams a common starting point.

The state comparison aligns five Gulf states across approvals, coastal controls, waste, radiation and reef programs.

Prepared examples reveal jurisdiction changes without repeating the entire exercise.

The source register keeps legislation, guidance, approvals and regulators searchable within the same model.

Monitored developments remain separate from confirmed Pathfinder logic until they are checked and accepted.

The pathway exports as a practical report, carrying project facts, reasoning, sources and priorities into the next conversation.

GOA Decom Pathfinder helps teams move sooner, share the same evidence and focus specialist effort where it matters most. Bring one project. See the pathway clearly. Contact info@lynchdecom.com.au.