From Liabilities to Assets: GORI Reimagines the Future of Offshore Platforms

The Gulf Futures Challenge, led by NASEM's Gulf Research Program (GRP), invests in bold, community-centered solutions to the Gulf region's most pressing challenges in energy transition, environmental change, and community resilience. GORI's award will support a five-year effort to retrofit and operationalize five offshore platforms, with permitting already underway through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

GORI's proposal - Repurposing Petroleum Infrastructure for Sustainable Energy, Food, and Critical Minerals - turns existing offshore structures into engines for the blue economy. By leveraging these structures as vertical reef ecosystems, the project protects marine biodiversity while creating new, innovative industries. This approach expands seafood production, supports renewable energy and mineral recovery, and strengthens coastal communities historically dependent on oil, gas, and fishing industries.

"We are transforming the backbone of oil and gas production into a more sustainable and prosperous Gulf Coast. By integrating renewable energy, aquaculture, mineral recovery, and ocean monitoring, we strengthen marine habitats, support thriving ecosystems, boost coastal economies, and advance sustainable energy production," said Kent Satterlee, Executive Director of GORI.

"We are delighted by the national acknowledgement of the importance of offshore infrastructure in sustaining essential marine habitats, while simultaneously highlighting the potential to advance a thriving and sustainable blue economy supporting coastal communities in the Gulf," said Rob Fondren, Co-Founder and Chairman of GORI.

"Offshore platforms already support flourishing ecosystems below water, while at the same time serving as infrastructure for the blue economy in the Gulf Region. Repurposing them offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage existing assets and avoid the massive cost of replacement," said Dr. Greg Stunz, Senior Executive Director, Harte Research Institute.

"Choosing the right platforms is the foundation of this entire effort. Through FishLAT, our machine learning assessment tool, we can screen all 1,300 platforms in the Gulf and match each one to its highest-value reuse - whether that's aquaculture, renewable energy, or ocean monitoring. This moves platform repurposing from a concept to a data-driven, defensible decision," said Amber Sparks, Co-Founder of Blue Latitudes LLC and GORI partner.

Project Partners

What makes this project distinctive is the breadth of expertise assembled under a single initiative - spanning marine science, offshore engineering, renewable energy, aquaculture, critical mineral recovery, and community workforce development. No comparable multi-benefit strategy has previously been attempted at this scale in U.S. waters. The project brings together a multidisciplinary team, including:

• Harte Research Institute (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi - expertise in fisheries, socioeconomics, and marine policy and law

• Blue Latitudes, LLC - a women-owned marine environmental consulting firm specializing in offshore work and Rigs to Reefs planning

• University of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana State University - advancing open-ocean aquaculture, hydrographic science, and uncrewed ocean monitoring

• University of Houston - specializing in offshore hydrogen production and energy transition feasibility (ROICE Program) and workforce development

• University of Michigan - pioneering sustainable critical mineral extraction from seawater

• Gulf Trust - advancing solutions that unite industry, environment, and communities

• The FerVID Group - assessing geothermal energy potential in offshore reservoirs

• Blue Silo Aquaculture, LLC - specializing in platform-assisted open-ocean aquaculture

Work begins with platform permitting, stakeholder engagement, and structural assessments. An offshore platform located off the Mississippi River delta in 470 feet of water will serve as the flagship demonstration site, with aquaculture and critical mineral pilots, ocean monitoring systems, and renewable energy testbeds to follow in Years 3 through 5. By 2030, GORI expects to have five operational platforms producing measurable environmental, economic, and social returns - and a replicable playbook for the remaining structures across the Gulf.