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  3. Turning oil rigs into reefs saves money and marine life. Yet many greens oppose it. When an offshore well stops producing oil

Turning oil rigs into reefs saves money and marine life. Yet many greens oppose it. When an offshore well stops producing oil

admin2021-02-21  66
问题    Turning oil rigs into reefs saves money and marine life. Yet many greens oppose it.
   When an offshore well stops producing oil, what should be done with the rig? One option is to haul it ashore, break it up and recycle it. This is expensive. For a big, deep-water oil or gas platform, it can cost $200m. Just hiring a derrick barge massive enough to do the job can cost $700,000 a day. But there is an alternative: simply leave most of the structure where it is. That is what you would expect a greedy oil firm to do: despoil the ocean just to save a lousy few million dollars. The surprise is, the cheap option may actually be greener.
   More than 490 platforms in American waters have become reefs in the past three decades. The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement urges states to issue reefing permits. State coffers gain: oil firms typically hand over half the money they save by reefing.
   Those savings vary greatly. Small platforms in shallow waters can often be removed for $10m, but sometimes for as little as $1m, according to DecomWorld, a consultancy. But for states with lots of offshore oil rigs, the windfalls soon add up. Mississippi pocketed an average of $625,000 for each of the 12 permits it has issued, according to Melissa Scallan of the state’s Department of Marine Resources. Louisiana’s take has averaged $270,000 per reefing—and the state has seen 336 of them, says Mike McDonough of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
   Far bigger savings are possible in the deep waters off California. Four years ago the Golden State passed a law allowing reefing. Operators are loth to estimate costs publicly, but the Tulane University Energy Institute reckons that reefing the state’s 27 platforms could save $2 billion. A platform or two could be retired as early as next year, though rising oil prices may mean they keep pumping longer.
   The debate is likely to intensify. In the Gulf of Mexico some 400 platforms are now being decommissioned each year. Divers and many fishermen want more to be reefed; shrimpers complain that reefs prevent them from dragging nets across parts of the ocean floor. In California operators must decide quickly if they wish to turn redundant rigs into reefs. Until 2017 firms can keep 45% of the savings. After that the figure falls to 35% until 2023; then it drops to just 20%.
   For now, the evidence suggests that reefing is a rare policy. It is both eco-friendly and pays for itself.
According to the text "more rigs become reefs" would be benefit for______.
选项 A、Environmental Bureau
B、residence nearby
C、oil processing industry
D、state government
答案D
解析 事实细节题。根据定位词定位到文章的第三段，段尾处体现了关键词的内容，即State coffers gain：oil firms typically hand over half the money they save by reefing(州政府收益因此增加：石油公司通常需要上交一半从“珊瑚礁化”中节省出的钱。)由此可知州政府会因此受益，故D项为正确选项。
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