Gerretsen, Isabelle. “The New Use for Abandoned Oil Rigs.” BBC Future, BBC, 26 Jan. 2021, www.bbc.com/future/article/20210126-the-richest-human-made-marine-habitats-in-the-world.

The Pacific Ocean, specifically the area around the Santa Barbara coast, is known to be the home of thousands of abandoned oil rigs. The process to remove these abandoned oil rigs is extremely costly so instead of tearing them down, they are being turned into a backbone for coral reefs. Turning the oil rigs into reefs is also extremely beneficial because the oil companies are using the money they would have spent removing them and donating half the money to California-based organizations that help protect reefs. These abandoned oil rigs have also been extremely handy because they create an abundant habitat for many different species of fish. They have also been found to help revive endangered species. Oil rigs are now being designed in a manner that would make them most effective for reefing.

This article was fascinating to read. Before this, I had never known that there were oil rigs in our oceans and I immediately assumed that they were detrimental to our environment. After reading the article, I quickly realized how extremely beneficial they are. I think that it’s really cool that oil companies have found a different purpose for the oil rigs, rather than just tearing them down—which I’m assuming would cause a lot of ocean pollution. I also find it incredible that oil companies are now designing oil rigs with the coral reefs in mind so that they can help the ecosystem flourish.