ii Comparative Assessment of Offshore Platforms as Artificial Reefs: Study of Sea Current, Sea Surface Temperature, and Water Depth in Malaysia

Rigs-To-Reefs (RTR) program was introduced as an alternative for the decommissioning of oil and gas platforms. Fishermen all around the world agreed that they caught more fish near the platforms as fish are abundant in the area. After several research that have been done, it was found that the platforms are acting as artificial reefs that serve as a shelter and breeding ground to the marine life, thus, enhancing fish populations. Other than that, many technical and financial issues have arisen during the decommissioning activities of removing the platform to onshore. Hence, the RTR program was introduced as a way that could benefit the environment, fishermen, and the oil and gas companies. However, not every platform is capable of being developed into a thriving artificial reef due to different environmental and hydrodynamic condition of the context. Therefore, this study proposes to perform a comparison between several locations to find a suitable location for Rigs-To-Reefs.