Hundreds of offshore oil rigs have neared the end of their lives, but they remain perched high above the surface of oceans while the wells beneath them have run dry. Now, the government has proposed a plan to repurpose the offshore rigs and use them to launch rockets to space.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a notice on Tuesday, revealing that it was considering the use of the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore space activities. The request for information explores the potential use of existing infrastructure like oil and gas drilling platforms for launch, re-entry, and recovery of commercial rockets.
The idea would help resolve a shortage of space launch pads that can barely keep up with an expanding industry, but it could have worrying effects on the ocean.
Out to sea
The recent request for information is in line with the White House’s December 2025 executive order, titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” which is aimed at boosting investment and advancing policies in order for the private space industry to grow.
As such, BOEM suggests utilizing the approximately 3.2 billion acres under federal jurisdiction in the Outer Continental Shelf, a region that extends 200 nautical miles offshore from U.S. coastlines.
“The Outer Continental Shelf presents a significant opportunity to support the future of America’s space economy,” Matt Giacona, acting director of BOEM, said in a statement. “Offshore launch, re-entry, and recovery infrastructure could expand operational flexibility, increase capacity, reduce constraints on growing launch demand, and strengthen the nation’s commercial and national security space capabilities.”
BOEM is seeking input on how to use the submerged land and existing offshore facilities in the Outer Continental Shelf for space launch activities, requesting comments from commercial space companies and other interested parties. The bureau did not specify a certain project but more so just floated the idea around.
Running low
As the space industry continues to grow, so does the number of payloads seeking to reach orbit. A recent report by the Commercial Space Federation warns that existing infrastructure for rocket launches will not be able to meet the increasing demand of the space industry.
By repurposing offshore oil platforms, BOEM could potentially help alleviate some of the demand on crowded space launch facilities. The plan, however, could also have terrible consequences on the ocean.
“Space junk and rocket explosions have already been trashing our coastal wildlife refuges and now Trump wants to expand that destruction farther into our oceans,” Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told The Hill.
There is also concern that the proposed plan would essentially let oil companies get away with not ridding the ocean of their defunct facilities. “At best, this plan is likely another Trump excuse for allowing the oil industry to leave its rusty old junk in the ocean instead of cleaning it up,” Sakashita added. “The whales, sea turtles and other marine wildlife off our coasts deserve better than to suffer for Big Oil and the pet projects of trillionaires and billionaires.”
