The incident that changed the whole industry piper alphawas anorth sea oil platform operated by occidental petroleumwhich began production in 1976 as an oil platform which later was converted to gas production an explosion and the resulting fires destroyed the entire platform on 6 th of july 1988, killing 167 workers the total insured loss of the platform was approximately 1. Pdf survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. This, rae said, coupled with the lack of leadership on the piper alpha, resulted in the ongoing escalation of the disaster and ultimately the loss of 167 lives and the platform. This disaster was preventable had existing progressive guidelines and practices been followed. The investigation into the piper alpha disaster has much to teach us thirty years. It was caused by a massive fire, which was not the result of an unpredictable act of god but of an accumulation of errors and questionable decisions. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167 lives, making it the. The accident killed 165 out of 226 crew members and two crew members from the standby vessel sandhaven. It concluded that the initial condensate leak was the result of maintenance work being carried out simultaneously on a pump and related safety valve. 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. The first cullen report was prompted by occidental petroleums piper alpha disaster on 6 july 1988, in which gas condensate ignited, killing 167 of the 229 people on board the oil platform in only 22 minutes dunblane.
At the time of the disaster, piper was one of the heaviest platforms along with magnus and. 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. It is the biggest workrelated disaster scotland, the united kingdom, the north sea and the oil industry has seen in modern times. The accident that occurred on board the offshore platform piper alpha in july 1988 killed 167 people and cost. The change in safety management for offshore oil and gas. The public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster book, 1990. 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. May 25, 2014 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. 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. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha.
Pipe lift raft on its aunching platform efore h, init. An explosion on the piper alpha platform occurred in july 1988. The conclusions formulated in the report will broaden the basis for international consultations to enhance the safety of rbmk reactors. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry disaster. About piper alpha 35 in 1976 platform started production of oil. Piper alpha survivors recall disaster 25 years on business. The piper alpha incident is still regarded as the worst offshore oil disaster in the history of the uk. This series contains the records of the public inquiry, chaired by the hon lord cullen between 11 november 1988 and 15 february 1990, into the accident on the piper alpha offshore drilling platform. Piper alpha atform from the,xlpha forll the all pi. The failure of the piper alpha was an engineering disaster caused by a fatal gas leak and subsequent explosions on 5th july 1978, reducing her to a wreck and killing 167 of her crew members. Alpha disaster in 1988 in which 167 offshore workers died. During his investigation of the piper alpha disaster, and in his subsequent report ref. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988, killing 167. Piper alpha and the cullen report oxford academic journals.
This paper examines the following aspects of offshore safety in oil and gas production systems before and after the piper alpha disaster. The third cullen report was a result of lord cullens. Sweeping changes needed in the way that safety in the offshore industry is assessed. The accident that occurred on board the offshore platform piper alpha in july 1988 killed 167 people and cost billions of dollars in property damage.
We undertook a survey of survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster 1988. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Transition from prescriptive to goal setting and the safety case. So other platforms continued production and pumping of gas for sometime which supplied additional fuel to the fire at piper. Jul 04, 20 e ven 25 years on, charles haffeys most powerful memory of the piper alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. 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. A look into the piper alpha disaster highlighting ethical issues. Lord cullens report1 was published on november 1990. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. The 1990 report of the uk public inquiry under lord cullen qc into the causes.
In november 1990 lord cullens report into the disaster severely criticised safety procedures on the rig owned by occidental. Cullen recommendations lifted safety standards and improved conditions. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion. Bibliography building process safety culture tool kit. It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it was the site of the worlds. What caused the giant piper alpha oil rig explosion. Summary the investigation into the piper alpha disaster has much to teach us thirty years on. Jul 06, 2017 failure to correctly record and communicate the current operational status was a causal factor of another more recent disaster in the gas and oil industry, the 2005 buncefield explosion.
Piper alpha proved spectacularly productive and when the operator, occidental, sought permission to increase rates, permission was granted on condition that gas should also be exported instead of being flared. May 06, 20 emergency call during the piper alpha ire. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. Macondo raises regulatory concerns for the us just as the 1988 piper alpha disaster. Petroleums piper alpha production platform, about 340. This catastrophic failure appears to have resulted from multiple violations of the laws of public resource development, and its proper regulatory oversight. The 1988 piper alpha disaster remains one of the worst. After 180 days of proceedings, it released its report public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster short. In the official investigation report of the piper alpha disaster written by lord cullen. The first cullen report was prompted by occidental petroleums piper alpha disaster on 6 july 1988, in which gas condensate ignited, killing 167 of the 229 people on board the oil platform in only 22 minutes.
Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. One of theworst accidents has happened was the piper alpha incident. Jul 24, 2015 a look into the piper alpha disaster highlighting ethical issues. Piper alpha rewrites the rules on offshore safety new. Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. In the explosion and subsequent fire on the oil platform, 167. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976.
On july 6, 1988, the piper alpha oil platform experienced a series of 10 catastrophic explosions and fires. The piper alpha was built at mcdermotts offshore construction yard for occidental petroleum to extract hydrocarbons from the piper field in the north sea. British sector north sea oil field 120 miles aberdeen scotland 4 5. Lord cullen made 106 recommendations within his report, all of which were accepted by. 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. A total of 167 people died in the piper alpha fire making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster.
Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. Hmso, sets out in minute detail in some 380 pages excluding appendices what happened on the rig in the build up to the disaster and its horrendous progress from fire, through explosion, and in. I consider that it would be useful if there was a systematic means by which what could. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Dhsg final reportmarch 2011 university of california, berkeley. In 1978 piper alpha was modified to process and export the natural gas to comply with uk gas conservation requirements 5 6. References weekend aberdeen, nov 27, 20, youtube, retrieved from. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km. However, whereas the myriad lessons learned from this disaster are common knowledge among chemical and process engineers, the valuable safety lessons from this harrowing story are arguably not so obvious to laboratory chemists. Dhsg final reportmarch 2011 university of california.
Onshore, following the robens report into safety and health at work. E ven 25 years on, charles haffeys most powerful memory of the piper alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. As is well documented, this disaster took place aboard the north sea oil platform, piper. Most of the victims suffocated in toxic fumes which developed after a gas leak set off the blasts and sparked the fire. To prevent such incidents from occurring in the future, rae insisted that the workforce must be engaged, empowered, and committed to a safety culture in oil production. I am convinced that learning from accidents and incidents is an important way of improving safety performance. Public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster the lord cullen report. Summary report this section contains the root causes of the disaster as derived from the above analysis and recommendations for future course of action conclusions from the above analysis, the root causes of the piper alpha accident were as follows. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited.
Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil. The vast inferno created by simultaneous eruptions from ruptured gas and. The second progress report july 15, 2010 concluded. Piper alpha rewrites the rules on offshore safety new scientist.
In 1996, lord cullen led the inquiry into the massacre at dunblane primary school ladbroke grove. September 1998, piper alpha technical investigation interim report hmso london, uk. Aftermath lord cullen report govt inquiry, led to major changes in regulations. This is the conclusion of the cullen report into the explosion on the oil rig piper alpha that killed 167 men. Highly visible incidents with farreaching economic and industry effects in which lives were lost include the piper alpha offshore accident 1988, the columbia space shuttle. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. The report was previously only available in print at a cost of. The reporting systems triggered by the apollo disaster eventually fell to. It took less than 20 years for a critical lesson from piper alpha to be forgotten. Lord cullens inquiry into the piper alpha disaster set forth 106 recommendations aimed at lifting safety standards in the. The public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster book. Beta this is a new way of showing guidance your feedback will help us improve it. We also use cookies to collect information about how you use hse.
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