A sustainability project spearheaded by researchers from Scotland’s Abertay University proposes re-using algae and seaweed collected from the legs of decommissioned oil and gas platforms.

According to the researchers, seaweed, mussels, coral and algae taken from these decommissioned structures could potentially be turned into new animal and fish feeds.

Source: Abertay University

The marine growth removed from the platforms once the oil and gas structural components are brought ashore at the end of the platform’s life promises to be a source of proteins and Omega 3 fatty acids for future feeds.

To determine the feasibility of this scheme, the Abertay researchers are working with the U.K. decommissioning firm CesCon Decom.

Karen Seath, environment and regulatory affairs director at CessCon, explained: “As the North Sea oil and gas sector matures, the decommissioning sector has an incredibly important role to play in making sure that the parts of those installations which are no longer in use and are required to be brought to shore are disposed of safely and responsibly. Our process is built around circular economy principles and we have set an ambitious target to reach the point where 100% of the decommissioned materials brought onshore are reused, reconditioned, refurbished or recycled."

This follows similar research conducted by Abertay in 2018 where marine waste material captured by fishing nets was turned into livestock feed.