High Island 389-A Rig @ FGB

[TXreefer]

HI-389A Photos

Here are a couple of photos from trips to 389 - not all of them are from being on the MV Fling. But you can see how beautiful the growth is!

 

[WetCell]

Rig diving is easy

One thing I didn't mention though was the experience of the diver. If you've never dove a rig before, then I retract all of that. The water there is DEEP and you must be able to manage your depth. I wouldn't bring anyone on the rig who wasn't already very comfortable rig diving. I'd also bank on drift diving the rig rather than tie off. That's why you need a good boat guy.

I have to disagree. Diving a rig is one of the easiest of all dives given that the following two caveats are in place:

1) Good boat guy (as you said) who knows how to tie up to the rig and keep the boat stable, and

2) Good depth control.

No one says you have to shoot down to the sea floor. There is a great deal to look at at 60' or so on a rig and at 60' on a rig in 100' water really is no different from being 60' on a rig in 400' water.

Here's an example. One side is from a recent trip to a rig near the Flower Gardens, the other a rig near South Padre:

 

[soonerwink]

Seaventures Sipadan, This is a rig that has been converted to a dive resort. You can dive the rig + they take you to surrounding reefs by boat to dive. This would be great for the Flower Gardens. I think I will go buy a powerball ticket, maybe I can win and invest in something like this.

 

[MichaelBaranows]

It's nearly 100 miles, I know you were kidding, as was I. What's 10 more miles among 90, right?

One thing I didn't mention though was the experience of the diver. If you've never dove a rig before, then I retract all of that. The water there is DEEP and you must be able to manage your depth. I wouldn't bring anyone on the rig who wasn't already very comfortable rig diving. I'd also bank on drift diving the rig rather than tie off. That's why you need a good boat guy.

Good luck and keep it safe out there.

-dennis

Dennis, that is someone I haven't seen in a long time. I hope that everything is going good.

Michael

 

[Wookie]

A note from one of the folks on the Sanctuary committee to save HI-389...

Dear Fellow Committee Members,

Well, it may be Saturday night, but I’m afraid I need to alert you to some very bad news.

After having some Idle Iron discussions here in the Gulf Coast and during a trip to Washington D.C. these past few days, I have learned to my dismay that W&T may have already filed plans with BSEE to quickly move forward to remove ALL of the HI-A-389 platform from the Sanctuary, as soon as later this month. Their purported plans are to physically move the entire structure about 13 miles away to a Texas Artificial Reef site on HI-A-349, and to tip it over on its side, as consistent with the RTR program and Coast Guard regulations.

Obviously, this was a great fear of many of us, that W&T would quickly move ahead with the quickest solution for removal, and completely reject the SAC’s request for delay until at least September 2013. True, it has always been in their financial interest to do so, but we had all hoped that they and the federal and state agencies would be able to work expeditiously together to find a win-win solution, and agree with the SAC that it was worth taking the time to find an optimal solution.

Just the other day, I watched my DVD again of W&T CEO Tracy Krohn being interviewed by Jean Michel Cousteau a few years ago, in his PBS documentary on all the Sanctuaries. Tracy seemed to really care about the marine life under the platform, and hopefully he still does, and may not know what his people are going to do to it all. Moving this jacket to a RTR site will be near-totally destructive of the marine life on and around the platform, as well as potentially damaging to the Sanctuary Coral Cap nearby.

It will be critical to see if their plan calls for mechanical cutting of the 8 legs, or are they going to move ahead with explosives on each one. Will they use explosives on each of the 8 conductors too? It is my recollection that the grandfathering of the platform into the Sanctuary, AND then into the MMS “No Activity Zone”, allowed the use of explosives on both counts, which was a mistake, in my view. Explosives on this structure could be near-totally destructive of the top-to-bottom marine life, not to mention the silt cloud impact on the EFGB coral cap, during the removal process. Barge anchor chains and lift equipment could potentially also have a significant impact on the coral cap, since it’s barely a mile away.

Hopefully, Sanctuary Management will have to grant approval of the plan/permit, and W&T won’t just move ahead later this month.

I strongly recommend that GP immediately send a letter to W&T and BSEE reminding them that the Sanctuary has not granted approval, and they should not proceed with any activity until further notice. Unfortunately, if a plan has indeed been submitted to remove it, precious time and money have already been invested by W&T in preparing such a proposal, and companies are often resistant to changing their plans, once they’ve set upon a course of action. Still, hopefully, they’ll be willing to change their plans.

This situation is rapidly deteriorating. Some configuration of “reefing-in-place” was always the preferred alternative. I’ve heard several reasons for the failure to reach a better solution, but I’m not going to go into all of those in this e-mail. Suffice to say, no one has been able to find a win-win solution yet, but for sure, treating this very unique platform as just another RTR donation is truly a mistake.

I can only hope that someone in a position of authority can cause a better outcome. Optimally from my viewpoint, a 25’ above the waterline abandonment solution would be ideal, just as John Hoffman has suggested with his Save-the-Blue model. Somehow, someway, someone has to have the regulatory power to make this happen.

No matter what is ultimately decided, W&T needs to be released from any future liability or expense, after they sign an agreement and deposit at least 50% of “funds saved” to either RTR or the Sanctuary. Monthly operating expenses, including liability insurance, continue to add up, with no offsetting revenue. I do not know why the production (and thus the offsetting revenue) stopped. The last producing well, a satellite well 6 miles to the south, either depleted the gas reservoir or became uneconomic at current low gas prices. No matter which reason, they’re losing money monthly, and want to end their expenses as soon as possible.

Time may indeed have just about run out on HI-A-389, unless we can figure out how to influence the people with the power to change what is truly going to be a tragic outcome, if a reef-in-place solution is not found instead. Let’s all encourage all the decision making authorities to find a better solution than RTR for HI-A-389.

Regards,

Clint

 

[Guba]

Thanks, Frank, for passing along this info. I was out there last Saturday, and I can attest that the platform is MANNED, with workers busily doing SOMETHING. It appalls me that what they may be doing is preparing the platform for removal. That would seem to be the case.

In reference to why the production of the platform was halted, I was told that it had little to do with its production capabilities, but in the delivery pipeline (away from the platform) that was damaged years ago by Hurricane Ike. It appears the repairs to the pipeline would not be cost-effective.

Again, I'm extremely saddened to think that one of the most unique and awesome dives in the Gulf might soon be no more. I, too, wish that some "magic" win-win solution could be found, but I fear it may be too late.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

What's the current status of the HI-389A? I realize this thread is almost a year old, but I've not been able to find any more recent info on the Internet. Did W&T go ahead and remove it or is it still there? To me, this was always the most exciting dive at the FGNMS, it would be a real shame to lose it.

 

[Wookie]

It's still there.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

That's good to know, Frank. Do you know if its final fate has been determined yet? Are they going to cut it at 80 FSW (or perhaps shallower?) or are they still planning on removing it completely?

I loved diving there with you guys, though I'm guessing that the Spree won't be coming to Texas any more. I guess we still have the Fling, but I don't know if they still do that dive or not. I hadn't been to the FGNMS in about 4 years, but I'm kind of hoping to try to get out there sometime this summer.

- Bo

 

[Wookie]

That's good to know, Frank. Do you know if its final fate has been determined yet? Are they going to cut it at 80 FSW (or perhaps shallower?) or are they still planning on removing it completely?

I loved diving there with you guys, though I'm guessing that the Spree won't be coming to Texas any more. I guess we still have the Fling, but I don't know if they still do that dive or not. I hadn't been to the FGNMS in about 4 years, but I'm kind of hoping to try to get out there sometime this summer.

- Bo

I have a request for 40 days in Texas next summer, so that would put me back there. We'll see if I win the bid...