The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was affected. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the piper alpha disaster, a north sea oil and gas insider claims safety measures are made a mockery by management bullying. Safety has vastly improved on north sea oil and gas platforms since the deadly explosion on the piper alpha rig 25 years ago, but experts warn there is no room for complacency. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to. It is 25 years since tragedy struck in the north sea.
It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it. To examine the role of factors relating to the trauma, the survivors and the survivors circumstances. Piper alpha is part of wikiproject fire service, which collaborates on fire servicerelated subjects on wikipedia. In his first broadcast interview, the firefighter says finding survivors and victims was as important as putting out the flames. Learning from the piper alpha accident the offshore platform piper alpha, which was lo cated in the british sector of the north sea oil field and operated by occidental petroleum, was engulfed in a catastrophic fire on july 6, 1988. Retro report july 1988 how we covered there is no doubt that the uk oil and gas sector learnt a tremendous amount from. Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. Copyright jim thomson 20 safety in engineering ltd piper. Article by fiona macleod ceng ficheme and stephen richardson. It is exactly 25 years to the day since the worlds worst offshore disaster, when the piper alpha oil rig, 120 miles off aberdeen, exploded. A large fixed platform, piper alpha was situated on the piper oilfield, approximately 120 miles either 200 or 220 km northeast of aberdeen in 474 feet 144 m of water. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Piper alpha disaster how is piper alpha disaster abbreviated.
If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project andor contribute to the discussion. Jul 05, 2016 the 6th july sees the anniversary of an industry and life changing event that took place in the north sea 28 years ago the piper alpha disaster. Piper alpha 25 years on have we learned the lessons. On july 6th 1988, an explosion and subsequent inferno on the piper alpha platform, operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd in the uk north sea, sacrificed 167 peoples life in now remains the worlds most deadly offshore disaster. Piper alpha disaster news, views, gossip, pictures. Jul 06, 20 it is exactly 25 years to the day since the worlds worst offshore disaster, when the piper alpha oil rig, 120 miles off aberdeen, exploded in a tornado of flame, claiming the lives of 167 of. The longterm psychological effects of surviving a major disaster are poorly understood. The piper alpha, was an offshore oil production platform that was located in the british sector of the north sea. Piper alpha at the time accounted for approximately ten percent for all gas and. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil.
Piper alpha timeline piper alpha was a large offshore rig based 100km off the coast of aberdeen. Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the north sea, july 1988 background what happened a series of explosions and an oil fed fire on the piper alpha oil and gas platform in the north sea on 6th july 1988, 120 miles northeast of aberdeen, killed 167 men. Ten years after the disaster, 78% 4659 of the survivors were located, of whom 72% 3346 agreed to be interviewed. Conference on chemical industrial disaster management cidm explosion the tharos, a fire fighting vessel attempted to draw alongside piper alpha and fight the inferno at 10. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. The conference will be addressed by lord cullen, who chaired the month public enquiry that resulted in over 100 safety recommendations which made history for health and safety in the north sea.
Jul 04, 20 the piper alpha disaster which killed 167 workers on 6 july 1988 off the coast of aberdeen is the worldsdeadliest ever oil rig accident. Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. In the boom of the 70s and early 80s, piper was the. A disaster which could have been, if not totally adverted, dramatically changed in course without the horrible loss of human life. Engulfed in fire, over the next few hours most of the oil rig topside modules collapsed into the sea. At about 10 pm, a simple miscommunication and safety lapse involving one of the platforms two condensate pumps caused a chain reaction, culminating in a chain reaction of explosions that completely destroyed the entire piper alpha oil rig. Piper alpha fireman likens inferno to twin towers 911 brian krause spent more than a month putting out the fire on the piper alpha oil platform in 1988. This week marks the 23th anniversary of the worst offshore oil disaster in history. Piper alpha atform from the,xlpha forll the all pi. Piper alpha perspectives features the chemical engineer. Survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. The controversy around it was heightened when a report.
Piper alpha prosecutions worth considering, says mp. However, this disaster has led to many changes across the world in the field of safety regulations in order to improve safety in different fields. Piper alpha was a large offshore rig based 100km off the coast of aberdeen. Pdf this article compares two industrial disasters in the offshore oil industry, the explosion and fire on piper alpha off the coast of scotland in. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited. It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it was the site of the worlds. This program utilizes a case study of the explosion and fire at the piper alpha oil platform in the north sea which resulted in the loss of 167 lives. The disaster has caused by a combination of different causes including human factors. British north sea oil industry, yet despite a large range of scholarship. Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the. Frank doran, labour mp for aberdeen north, made the comment at.
Public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster the lord cullen report. John rowley, chief executive of atlas, a ukbased training company for the oil and gas sector, said the industry was now among the safest in the country. There will be many, far too many, like myself that. May 25, 2014 importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster 1 comment i t is vital that lessons are learned from all major incidents, as management, cultural and technical failure i. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil. Piper alpha was the largest platform by production in the world in its era 317,000 barrelsday, peak. Download as ppt, pdf, txt or read online from scribd. On july 6, 1988, in the piper oilfield, north sea, the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry disaster took place. Piper disaster the hon lord cullen department of energy. The piper alpha disaster, also known as the worst offshore disaster to happen in history occurred 30 years ago in 1988. Dec 12, 2011 on july 6th 1988, an explosion and subsequent inferno on the piper alpha platform, operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd in the uk north sea, sacrificed 167 peoples life in now remains the worlds most deadly offshore disaster. Twentyfive years ago the piper alpha disaster changed the oil and gas landscape but have the safety lessons been learnt.
Remembering the piper alpha disaster berghahn journals. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. While this 5 summary has been condensed and paraphrased, it is believed to been consistent with the facts and conclusions outlined in the cullen report. Jul 15, 20 twentyfive years ago the piper alpha disaster changed the oil and gas landscape but have the safety lessons been learnt. Pdf it has now been well over 20 years since the north sea piper alpha disaster in 1988. A northeast mp suggested yesterday that prosecutions could still be launched over the piper alpha disaster. It was operated by the occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. An explosion and the resulting oil and gas fires destroyed it on 6 july 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61 survivors. The investigation into the piper alpha disaster has. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion in july 1988, which is still regarded as the worst offshore oil disaster in the history of the uk. Sue jane, who was offshore in the months before to. Piper alpha disaster news, views, gossip, pictures, video.
Jun 23, 2010 piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the north sea, july 1988 background what happened a series of explosions and an oil fed fire on the piper alpha oil and gas platform in the north sea on 6th july 1988, 120 miles northeast of aberdeen, killed 167 men. Jul 05, 20 safety has vastly improved on north sea oil and gas platforms since the deadly explosion on the piper alpha rig 25 years ago, but experts warn there is no room for complacency. Sweeping changes needed in the way that safety in the offshore industry is assessed. Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil pdf to doc verypdf2word and gas production of a group of platforms. One hundred and sixty seven people died in the piper alpha fire on 6 july 1988, making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. Pdf survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. Since 1992, the owneroperator of every fixed and mobile. Since drilling began in the north sea in the 1970s there have been 300 deaths on britains 123 oil installations, often in accidents caused by bad weather. Bibliography building process safety culture tool kit. Late in the evening of 6 july 1988, a series of explosions ripped through the piper alpha platform in the north sea.
Piper alpha rewrites the rules on offshore safety new. Jul 04, 2008 piper alpha was the largest platform by production in the world in its era 317,000 barrelsday, peak. Both oil and gas was pumped from the two other platforms to piper alpha and subsequently pumped to shore. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. Piper alpha disaster anniversary of tragedy in the north sea. The 6th july sees the anniversary of an industry and life changing event that took place in the north sea 28 years ago the piper alpha disaster. Both oil and gas was pumped from the two other platforms to piper alpha and subsequently pumped to. Hero diver fled to australia to escape his piper alpha. Saturday, july 6, 20 marked the 25th anniversary of the largest disaster in the history of offshore oil and gas industry. The rig produced oil, gas and condensate primarily propane and was linked to two other drilling platforms via large undersea pipelines. Piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by. The sixtyone survivors of the piper alpha accident survived because they disobeyed the standing instructions.
So other platforms continued production and pumping of gas for sometime which supplied additional fuel to the fire at piper. This disaster happened due to the explosion and fire of the piper alpha platform in the united kingdom in 1988. On wednesday, july 6, 1988 the piper alpha platform in the uk part of the north sea was struck by an explosion which. Feb 12, 2018 outline about piper alpha platform the happening event timeline cause of the disaster effect of the disaster key failures improvement and prevention conclusion 2 3. The piper alpha platform is the largest and oldest platform in the north sea oilfield. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Piper alpha film a reminder that same hazards exist. We undertook a survey of survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster 1988.
It produced crude oil and natural gas from 24 wells for delivery to the flotta oil terminal on orkney and to other installations by three separate pipeli. Pipe lift raft on its aunching platform efore h, init. The disaster caused the death of 165 men out of 226 on board. On july 6, 1988, the piper alpha oil platform experienced a series of 10 catastrophic explosions and fires. Outline about piper alpha platform the happening event timeline cause of the disaster effect of the disaster key failures improvement and prevention conclusion 2 3. Copyright jim thomson 20 safety in engineering ltd piper alpha. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files. This produced a further massive explosion and fireball that engulfed the piper alpha platform. Abstract the piper alpha disaster remains the most significant event in the history of the.
It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Step change in safety has commissioned a short film about the piper alpha disaster featuring artwork by sue jane taylor. The piper alpha disaster which killed 167 workers on 6 july 1988 off the coast of aberdeen is the worldsdeadliest ever oil rig accident. Piper alpha rewrites the rules on offshore safety new scientist.
Frank doran, labour mp for aberdeen north, made the comment at the end of a westminster. Jul 04, 20 on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the piper alpha disaster, a north sea oil and gas insider claims safety measures are made a mockery by management bullying. Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. It produced crude oil and natural gas from 24 wells for delivery to the flotta oil terminal on orkney and to other installations by three separate pipelines. This is the conclusion of the cullen report into the explosion on the oil rig piper alpha that killed 167 men. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production.
It was built in the north sea by a consortium run by occidental and dr. This is piper alpha spiral to disaster bbc by green world group on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. It was last inspected two weeks ago but last week there was a small fire on the rig. About piper alpha 15 it was discovered in 1973 by occidental petroleum caledonia in 1975 piper alpha oil rig was constructed on july 6th 1988, an explosion of the piper alpha.
This article compares two industrial disasters in the offshore oil industry, the explosion and fire on piper alpha off the coast of scotland in 1988, the worlds worst offshore disaster, and the. The piper alpha disaster on the morning 6 th july 1988, as part of a maintenance program, a gas pump pressure safety valve was removed from the processing area and, as the work could not be completed that day, a blanking plat was fitted over the end of pipe where the pump had been removed. It began production in 1976, 2 initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. Piper alpha disaster joe meanen, who jumped into the sea from the burning platform, with gary gallagher, who survived a 32ft fall from a hotel roof, to make workplaces safer.
Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km northeast of aberdeen, scotland, that was operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited. The accident killed 165 out of 226 crew members and two crew from the standby vessel sandhaven. Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. Professionalismpiper alpha oil rig disaster wikibooks. The piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. Piper alpha was no accident, it was a disaster waiting to happen.