Abandoned oil rig sinking along Western Region’s coast
Environmental disaster looms off the coast of Sekondi/Takoradi in the Western Region as cold stacked oil rig, Atwood Sea Hawk, is on the verge of collapse after its new owners abandoned it.
The rig was cold stacked, which is an industry term referring to the fact that it was moved to its present location (in 2012) to await its next assignment which never came.
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However, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) says owing to the imminent danger, they are in the process of securing a court order to assign the abandoned rig to any interested party before it collapses.
Official sources of the GPHA acknowledged the dangers associated with its collapse but said the court processes had to be completed before releasing the rig to those who had expressed interest to move it away for possible decommissioning.
However, the GPHA was unable to give a definite date for the completion of the court process and its movement from its anchorage.
Obstruction
The rig, which was anchored on four legs in upright position in 2012, has the entire platform sloping and at the moment tilted at about 45 degrees, most likely due to punch-through, allowing it to take in water.
Stakeholders, including the port authorities, are scared of the impending disaster that the situation poses and are making frantic efforts to find the new owner of the old rig, which did not come to perform any task in Ghana.
It is currently an obstruction to vessel navigation and occupies the anchorage without any economic benefits to the Port of Takoradi.
Atwood Sea Hawk was cold stacked during the oil industry downturn due to a lack of interest in the rig. At the moment, almost all items on the upper deck, including metals, batteries and air conditioners, among other things, have been stolen by thieves who use canoes to invade the platform at night.
Residual waste
The fear is that the rig has toxic residual waste streams from previous offshore operations that may be hazardous to the environment.
In terms of volume and toxicity, experts say there will be some drilling fluids among the most significant waste streams from exportation and production activities in the upstream oil and gas industry, which should be well managed.
Cold stack
If nothing is done currently to avert its collapse, the chemicals may produce a more intense impact on the environment and affect aquatic life along the coast of Sekondi/Takoradi and beyond.
Upon entry in 2012, Atwood Sea Hawk was offered a space at the anchorage for cold stack, the term used for cost reduction steps by original owners of the facility when a rig’s contracting prospects look bleak.
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Again when the available contract terms do not justify an adequate return on the investment needed to ensure repairs and refurbishment to make the unit work ready, it is anchored.
The original owners, Atwood Hunter, were charged $65,000 a month for anchoring the rig in Sekondi/Takoradi by the GPHA and was later sold to a new buyer who was supposed to move it to Brazil.
The agents of the rig in Ghana, Macro-Shipping, negotiated the reduction of the monthly charge from $65,000 to $35,000 a month because the rig was going to be in the country for long.
Debt of a million dollars
A check by the Daily Graphic indicated that the new owners had absconded and left about $1 million debt, being the daily maintenance cost and monthly charge for cold stack.
At the moment, the requirement for cold stack to ensure cost savings, primarily to see crew reductions to skeletal levels, is zero and the rig left at the mercy of the weather.
Steps taken to protect the rig’s facilities include applying protective coatings; filling engines with protective fluids has not been done.
Shipping agent
The agent who was then responsible for the costs of crewing up, inspection, security, as well as maintenance deferred it due to non-payment, and potential refurbishment acting as deterrents to reactivation is missing.
When contacted, the Chief Executive of Macro Shipping, Mr Roland Azalimah, acknowledged the problem and the state of the rig. However, he said since the contract had been abrogated, they could not trace the new owners to honour their financial obligations.
He explained that after the rig was sold, some officers of the new owners came to the country to carry out repair work and also a tugboat was contracted to tow the rig after repairs and refurbishment.
Unceremonious departure
However, “those who were working on the rig left unceremoniously without informing us, left a huge debt that is yet to be settled and the tugboat also left at the anchorage.
“At the moment, we are also looking for them to retrieve our monies and that of the port authorities,” Mr Azalimah said.
The Public Affairs/Marketing Manager of the GPHA, Mr Peter A. Bediako, said the authority had noticed the state of the rig with much concern.
He said the authorities at the Port of Takoradi had referred the case to their legal team to see how best to handle the situation as he acknowledged the impending danger.
Decommissioning
Some industry experts are of the view that since the rig was in navigation, the GPHA can evoke the international rules and clear it for decommissioning.
However, decommissioning of offshore structures is a highly complex and technical exercise, therefore as part of the measures to save the coast from any environmental complications, as well as cater for the decommissioning expenditures, the GPHA and the agent need to fish out for the new owner to take responsibility.
If that is not done, the rig may sink and cause environmental disaster and pollute the coast with toxic content, which should be avoided.
The experts rule out the return to service of the sea hawk, saying it could be costly since in its current state it requires tens of millions of dollars for refitting costs.
