Man-made structures in the marine environment such as offshore Oil & Gas infrastructure are known to provide a hard substrate that enables ecosystems to develop on and around them. Current decommissioning practices on the UK Continental Shelf are mandated by the OSPAR Decision 98/3 with the premise of a clean seabed at its core, meaning that it is the expectation that all infrastructure is completely removed at the end of its operation life, leaving a clear seabed behind. This study critically reviewed 49 peer-reviewed articles relating to the ecosystem and the impact to these ecosystems by current removal practices. The results clearly demonstrate that current science-based evidence shows that existing O&G platform substructures act as multipurpose artificial reefs upon which rich ecosystems have developed and that their removal degrades the overall North Sea marine environment. Furthermore, this study shows that clear-sea bed policies, such as OSPAR 98/3, do not reflect, nor understand the complex relationship and interdependencies between biology and man-made structures and do not reflect current scientific knowledge. It is concluded that based on current knowledge, it is no longer scientifically justifiable to mandate the removal of all O&G infrastructure during decommissioning and that applying the principle of a clean seabed according to the OSPAR Commission should be re-considered.

中文翻译：

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OSPAR 98/3 是基于科学的政治还是基于政治的科学？


众所周知，海洋环境中的人造结构（例如海上石油和天然气基础设施）可以提供坚硬的基质，使生态系统能够在其上及其周围发展。英国大陆架目前的退役做法是由 OSPAR 第 98/3 号决定强制执行的，其核心前提是清洁海床，这意味着期望所有基础设施在其使用寿命结束时完全拆除，留下后面的海底清澈。这项研究批判性地审查了 49 篇与生态系统以及当前清除实践对这些生态系统的影响相关的同行评审文章。结果清楚地表明，目前的科学证据表明，现有的石油和天然气平台下部结构充当了多用途人工鱼礁，丰富的生态系统在其上发展起来，而它们的拆除会降低整个北海海洋环境。此外，这项研究表明，OSPAR 98/3 等清澈海床政策既没有反映也没有理解生物学和人造结构之间的复杂关系和相互依赖性，也没有反映当前的科学知识。结论是，根据目前的知识，强制在退役期间拆除所有油气基础设施不再具有科学合理性，并且应重新考虑应用 OSPAR 委员会规定的清洁海底原则。