U.S. proposal would make oil companies look for shipwrecks before they drill | Science

As oil and gas development pushes into deeper waters off the U.S. coast, federal officials want to tighten rules for when energy firms must look for archaeological sites before drilling. A proposal released this week would require that oil and gas companies survey any area where they plan to disturb the sea floor, not just places where data or models suggest there is a shipwreck or other cultural site.

The draft rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) could have its greatest impact in the Gulf of Mexico. More than 600 shipwrecks or possible shipwrecks have been found there, most by energy companies as part of existing permitting requirements, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2011, for example, oil and gas operators working off Louisiana spotted a shipwreck that NOAA scientists and other scholars identified last year as the 207-year-old whaling ship Industry, whose crew included descendants of enslaved people and Native Americans.

But many underwater artifacts are missed or spotted too late. “By improving our reporting requirements, we can increase the likelihood of identifying these important resources before they are inadvertently damaged by an [oil or gas] operator and help ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act,” says James Kendall, BOEM Gulf of Mexico regional director.

The current rule relies heavily on predictive models, which can come up short, some scientists say. “It’s very difficult to model precisely where every shipwreck is going to occur,” says Amanda Evans, a marine archaeologist with consulting firm Gray & Pape, who conducts underwater surveys for energy companies and other entities. Surveying technology has improved over the years, and the proposed rule, if finalized, will likely result in more discoveries, she says.

Federal regulators have gradually tightened the rules that govern when and where oil and gas companies must complete archaeological surveys that can detect shipwrecks and submerged human settlements. But under current rules, operators must only conduct such an analysis in areas where BOEM already has a “reason to believe” the site may contain an archaeological resource, based on evidence such as data from remote sensing instruments that detect ferrous metals, or existing sonar images of the sea floor. The agency also uses sources such as old news articles, accident reports, and high-traffic sailing routes to predict where undiscovered shipwrecks may be located.

The proposed rule, published on 15 February, requires oil and gas companies working on the outer continental shelf—typically 5.5 kilometers or more from shore—to conduct surveys before initiating any new activity that would disturb the sea floor. “BOEM’s use of predictive models may be underpredicting shipwreck locations,” the agency said in a statement. The agency drafted the rule after evaluating 40 years of evidence collected by industry, federal and state agencies, and academic institutions and concluding that its models may be identifying far fewer possible shipwreck locations than exist. If a direct survey detects a possible artifact, BOEM typically works with the operator to avoid the site.

Shawn Joy, an underwater archaeologist with the Tallahassee, Florida–based organization SEARCH who looks for and studies submerged archaeological sites, said the proposal would bring requirements for oil and gas firms more in line with offshore wind industry rules adopted in 2020. “Everybody should be playing by the same rules when it comes to the outer continental shelf,” he says.

A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said the organization is still reviewing the proposed rule and can’t yet comment. BOEM is accepting public comment through 17 April.

As oil and gas development pushes into deeper waters off the U.S. coast, federal officials want to tighten rules for when energy firms must look for archaeological sites before drilling. A proposal released this week would require that oil and gas companies survey any area where they plan to disturb the sea floor, not just places where data or models suggest there is a shipwreck or other cultural site.

The draft rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) could have its greatest impact in the Gulf of Mexico. More than 600 shipwrecks or possible shipwrecks have been found there, most by energy companies as part of existing permitting requirements, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2011, for example, oil and gas operators working off Louisiana spotted a shipwreck that NOAA scientists and other scholars identified last year as the 207-year-old whaling ship Industry, whose crew included descendants of enslaved people and Native Americans.

But many underwater artifacts are missed or spotted too late. “By improving our reporting requirements, we can increase the likelihood of identifying these important resources before they are inadvertently damaged by an [oil or gas] operator and help ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act,” says James Kendall, BOEM Gulf of Mexico regional director.

The current rule relies heavily on predictive models, which can come up short, some scientists say. “It’s very difficult to model precisely where every shipwreck is going to occur,” says Amanda Evans, a marine archaeologist with consulting firm Gray & Pape, who conducts underwater surveys for energy companies and other entities. Surveying technology has improved over the years, and the proposed rule, if finalized, will likely result in more discoveries, she says.

Federal regulators have gradually tightened the rules that govern when and where oil and gas companies must complete archaeological surveys that can detect shipwrecks and submerged human settlements. But under current rules, operators must only conduct such an analysis in areas where BOEM already has a “reason to believe” the site may contain an archaeological resource, based on evidence such as data from remote sensing instruments that detect ferrous metals, or existing sonar images of the sea floor. The agency also uses sources such as old news articles, accident reports, and high-traffic sailing routes to predict where undiscovered shipwrecks may be located.

The proposed rule, published on 15 February, requires oil and gas companies working on the outer continental shelf—typically 5.5 kilometers or more from shore—to conduct surveys before initiating any new activity that would disturb the sea floor. “BOEM’s use of predictive models may be underpredicting shipwreck locations,” the agency said in a statement. The agency drafted the rule after evaluating 40 years of evidence collected by industry, federal and state agencies, and academic institutions and concluding that its models may be identifying far fewer possible shipwreck locations than exist. If a direct survey detects a possible artifact, BOEM typically works with the operator to avoid the site.

Shawn Joy, an underwater archaeologist with the Tallahassee, Florida–based organization SEARCH who looks for and studies submerged archaeological sites, said the proposal would bring requirements for oil and gas firms more in line with offshore wind industry rules adopted in 2020. “Everybody should be playing by the same rules when it comes to the outer continental shelf,” he says.

A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute said the organization is still reviewing the proposed rule and can’t yet comment. BOEM is accepting public comment through 17 April.