Waterworld: a sustainable future for decommissioned offshore platforms

Nowadays the phenomenon of the decommissioning of offshore oil platforms has taken on considerable proportions. If it arises as a direct consequence of the progressive depletion of marine oil fields, the most recent causes are the obsolescence of the structures, but above all the collapse in the price of crude oil and the increasing use of renewable energy sources, factors that have determined the decline of investments in the extraction of hydrocarbons. The potential environmental risks related to the abandonment of this sizeable heritage of industrial architectures are significant and have aroused in recent years a wide critical debate on the future of these structures. The most suitable solution appears to be the recovery of these platforms, converting them to new uses and to a new life, after an adequate reclamation. In fact, the dismantling of the extraction plant looks like a solution that is less and less feasible due to the complexity and costs of the removal operations of the parts and the sustainable disposal of the materials. The proposals for sustainable reconversion contemplate both the submerged part of the platform, which can become a hot spot of marine biodiversity, usable by coastal and underwater tourism, and the emerged part, which can be used for example to exploit marine wind resources, or transformed in an eco-sustainable perspective to host scientific research stations, temporary or permanent residences, sports centers or amusement parks. Starting from a brief illustration of the types and construction characteristics of offshore platforms, the paper aims to contribute to the reflection on possible scenarios and ways of sustainable reuse of this unique industrial heritage - as an alternative to abandonment or decommissioning - focusing attention on the theme of the reconversion of the platforms in tourist hotel facilities, also through the analysis of paradigmatic cases.