Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Continued Energy
Early studies suggested that, yes, repurposing projects could transform the trajectory of industries and coastal communities. Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Continued Energy (ROICE) Project — previously called SHOWPLACE — was established to continue exploring new commercial applications for end-of-life offshore infrastructure amidst their trove of potential.
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Origin Story
ROICE began as a thought experiment that evolved into one of the many efforts that makes UH Energy a leader in sustainability. Researchers at the University of Houston have been thinking about ways to repurpose offshore oil & gas infrastructure since the concept of sustainability first started gaining momentum in the energy industry. There are thousands of inactive wells, pipelines and platforms in the Gulf that have reached the end of their lifecycle in the oil & gas sector. Instead of dismantling them, could they be repurposed to expand the energy ecosystem and make it more efficient? What if, researchers asked, this offshore infrastructure could serve a foundation for new and existing enterprises to build on?
Early studies suggested that, yes, repurposing projects could transform the trajectory of industries and coastal communities that would suffer in the absence of active offshore energy generation. Their assessments attracted interest and investment from government officials and energy leaders, and in 2022, the Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Clean Energy (ROICE) Project — previously called SHOWPLACE — was established to continue exploring new commercial applications for end-of-life offshore infrastructure amidst their trove of potential.
ROICE Mission
ROICE has since grown into an incubation space for industry and academia to discover and develop actionable frameworks for repurposing projects that could add new environmental and economic value to offshore assets. Though operators are normally obligated to engage in a lengthy, expensive process of dismantling inactive offshore structures — which can disturb marine life and drain the area’s economic viability — ROICE believes that repurposing can bring significant workforce and revenue benefits to coastal communities, while lowering the carbon footprint in their next phase of life. For example, the platforms could become the basis for actualizing new wind-to-hydrogen, aqua-culture or critical minerals mining projects. Perhaps they could serve as infrastructure for offshore data centers, or to facilitate the expansion of the sport fishing industry.
Phase 1 - Screening Studies (Complete)
- Levelized Cost (LC) Model and LC Heat Maps developed for Wind and Hydrogen ROICE projects in the GOM
- Chartered Regulatory and Technical workgroups to develop project implementation framework
Phase 2 - Feasibility Studies (Complete)
- Screen offshore GOM assets for ROICE implementation potential; refine ROICE designs
- Understand path to profitability of ROICE projects
- Develop ROICE Project Implementation Framework
Phase 3 - Conceptual Project Design
- Develop scope and refined design for short list of demo project locations
- Expand ROICE Project Implementation Framework
- Apply to shortlisted assets as case studies
- Launch and complete commercial framework for all scenarios
- Envision how it would work for 2 pilot locations as case studies
- Solicit partners (asset owners, funding agencies, OEM and EPC companies) and develop scope and project execution plan for ROICE H2 Pilot
Future Phases
- ‘26 - ‘29: Detailed design and execution
- ’30 - ’32: Start up Window
Meet the Team
Collaboration
ROICE works with more than 40 commercial partners, national labs, consultants and other stakeholders who not only provide actionable guidance on what ideas to explore, but actively collaborate with faculty and students to produce economic models, equipment designs, data sets, workforce development frameworks, project management plans and more that quantify the viability, requirements and potential impacts of various repurposing projects. A hydrogen-producing electrolyzer may work well onshore, for example, but how would it work offshore on a repurposed platform? With research papers co-authored by experts in science, technology, engineering, economics, business, public policy and the law, ROICE aims to answer such questions while providing a roadmap to implementation that industry can run with.
Funding Statement
This project was paid for [in part] with federal funding from the Department of the Treasury through the State of Texas under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the State of Texas or the Department of the Treasury.