Supporting Marine Life in the Gulf of Mexico

Researchers recently explored deep-sea sites in the Gulf of Mexico, including the area around BP’s Pompano platform, located about 30 miles southeast of Louisiana. What they found may ultimately help to find cures for a range of human ailments, ranging from pain and inflammation to cancer and AIDS-related infections.

The expedition was part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ocean exploration programme. This aims to explore a broad range of habitats to find new marine organisms that produce compounds with pharmaceutical potential, as well as to document the Gulf’s rich biodiversity.

A rare and protected species of black coral was discovered growing on one of BP Pompano’s production platforms, about 1,000 feet below the surface. In fact, as Steve Kolian, of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, points out: “Offshore platforms are one of the most productive ecosystems, by area, on the planet. The Japanese utilize offshore platforms and artificial reefs for the foundation of their most ambitious sustainable fisheries. Marine organisms in the Gulf of Mexico utilize the offshore platforms for spawning, feeding, mating and nursery grounds. These platforms are the only hard substrata across much of the Texas-Louisiana continental shelf. Many of the organisms that colonize the structures are on the federal protected, threatened or endangered lists.’’

Although oil companies are presently required to remove old oil and gas platforms, legislation currently being considered by the US Congress could allow them to remain in place as artificial reefs to support the kinds of biodiversity - corals, sponges and other sea life - which is not only of value in itself, but which may also, scientists believe, be the source of key future pharmaceutical advances.