Fire in the night relives the tragic events that occurred on the piper alpha rig on 6th july 1988. Accident investigation 4 introduction the incident covered in this study is piper alpha disaster which took place in 1988. Within seconds a major unstabilised crudeoil fire developed and all but the wellhead area and the lower parts of the platform were engulfed in smoke. It was a catastrophe that killed 167 men and left only 61 survivors, each of whom had to fight for their lives to escape the huge, labyrinthine structure and the flames that were consuming it. Innovative free cooling for data centres efficient ahu selection to reduce chillerahu sizing understanding the natura 2000 network and appropriate assessment. The third cullen report was a result of lord cullens. Its an accurate but incomplete explanation of what happened and, as such, its potentially misleading. An occupational safety and health management system is not effective unless it is accompanied by a positive safety culture in the workplace. The real story of the burning platform conner partners. A mix of maintenance issues caused management to shift to an alternate mode that was rarely used and which put a higher level of stress 650 psi operating. The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was affected. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. Remember piper alpha by taking your turnover and workpermit procedures seriously.
The piper alpha incident in 1988 was the catalyst for change in the regulation of offshore petroleum activities in a number of jurisdictions, as had a number of major incidents similarly driven change in major hazard industries in the previous decades, and would continue to in. So other platforms continued production and pumping of gas for sometime which supplied additional fuel to the fire at piper. About piper alpha 35 in 1976 platform started production of oil. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion in july 1988, in one of the worst. Creating a culture of prevention in occupational safety. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. On july 6, 1988, a series of catastrophic explosions and fires destroyed the platform. Occupational health management of police officers involved. Outline the events and conditions that lead to the disaster and multiple deaths that occurred.
As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. In the following sections we will examine the causes of the piper alpha oil rig explosion and the subsequent inquiry into the incident that claimed 167 crew members lives. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry. 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.
There are other parallels that can be drawn from piper alpha, too, in management, cultural and technical failures that contributed to the loss of the oil rig and 167 lives. At the time of the disaster, piper was one of the heaviest platforms along with magnus and. Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. Many organizations that have introduced new occupational health and safety management strategies have failed to show improved effectiveness because these strategies did not consider the impact of the organizational culture. 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. 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. Explain how laminar and turbulent flames are formed. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km. Dat het aanvankelijke incident kon escaleren tot een ramp van dergelijke. Also, the probability of such an accident could be made arbitrarily small by controlling the level of detail in which the accident is described. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download news. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha.
Some important amplifications are not drawn out and without them, the story can be easily misconstrued. The specific series of events that turned a simple process safety incident into a disaster began with a decision to change the mode of production on the platform. The worlds deadliest offshore oil disaster safety4sea. 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. In 1996, lord cullen led the inquiry into the massacre at dunblane primary school ladbroke grove. If the piper alpha disaster occurred today, discuss the current safety. While this 5 summary has been condensed and paraphrased, it is believed to been consistent with the. Over 30 years after the piper alpha oil platform suffered multiple explosions. At the time of the piper alpha incident the workforce lived in a world where cuttingedge technology was a fax machine, so the first that those working offshore knew of the incident was through newspapers. You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice. Piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. A system must be developed to promptly address, resolve and document the incident report findings, recommendations and corrective actions. Process safety training american society of safety. In 1988, piper alpha endured a gas leak with the subsequent fire and explosion reducing her to a wreck, ending up on the bottom of the north sea.
Piper alpha 25 years on have we learned the lessons. The author headed the public inquiry into this disaster. Hughes risk management sample accident and incident. Like many other offshore platforms, piper alpha had an automatic. Read chapter 2 the piper alpha and the deepwater horizon. 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. In 1978 piper alpha was modified to process and export the natural gas to comply with uk gas conservation requirements 5 6. Incident introduction late in the evening of 06 july 1988, a series of explosions ripped through the piper alpha platform in the north sea. Engulfed in fire, over the next few hours most of the oil rig topside modules collapsed into the sea. For instance, an action as simple as misplacing a permittowork certificate was just one of the root causes of the piper alpha incident in the north sea. The public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster journal. Pdf the contribution of human factors to accidents in.
For similar platforms and for a welldefined class of accidents, however, this study is the. 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 was an oil production platform on north sea, approximately 110 miles from aberdeen, which was operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. Post jobs, find pros, and collaborate commission free in our. Failure of process safety management on every level. Piper alpha atform from the,xlpha forll the all pi. British sector north sea oil field 120 miles aberdeen scotland 4 5.
Pipe lift raft on its aunching platform efore h, init. In fact you will rarely here it referred to as an incident as it has, since the day it occurred, been referred to as the piper alpha disaster. What caused the giant piper alpha oil rig explosion. Piper alpha essay sample free college essay examples. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download.
Part of the problem of trying to examine this event is its complexity. The piper alpha incident is still regarded as the worst offshore oil disaster in the history of the uk. The death toll included two crewmen of a rescue vessel. Alpha disaster in 1988 in which 167 offshore workers died. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil and gas. Survivor steve rae will discuss his thoughts and experiences from piper alpha to hopefully influence how safety can be improved by us all as individuals through accepting personal accountability and. An explosion and the resulting oil and gas fires destroyed it on 6 july 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61 survivors.
The occupational health management of police officers involved in the piper alpha incident is described with reference to the factors likely to cause either physical or psychological distress and the measures taken to overcome these. Piper 1 piper alpha case history the following information has been taken from the uk government publication the public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster the lord cullen report. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. 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 1988 piper alpha tragedy claimed 167 lives after a gas leak caused the oil production platform to explode in a massive ball of flames. Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. The piper alpha incident described above is the condensed version of the story. About piper alpha placed at north sea, the platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas oil production started in 1976 with about 250,000 barrels 40,000 m3 of oil per day increasing to 300,000 barrels 48,000 m3 a gas recovery m. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. The piper alpha incident in1988 was thecatalyst for change regulation ofoffshore petroleum activities a number jurisdictions, as had a number of major incidents similarly driven change in major hazard industries in the previous decades, and would continue to in. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167 lives, making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. Undertaken role of lead investigator for the piper alpha module recovery, personnel. T his month marks the 25th anniversary of the piper alpha offshore oil platform disaster in the north sea approximately 110 miles 180 km from aberdeen, scotland.
Free enterprise, of which the oil industry is a glorious standard. The documentary features astonishing testimonies from men who found. It is the biggest workrelated disaster scotland, the united kingdom, the north sea and the oil industry has seen in modern times. Accidents such as the piper alpha disaster illustrate that the performance of a highly complex sociotechnical system, is dependent upon the interaction of technical, human, social, organisational. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988, killing 167 men. Therefore, most of the personnel could not make decision to evacuate when the incident happens lord caplen,1997. 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. The piper alpha tragedy piper alpha was a large fixed structure platform located about 120 miles north east of aberdeen that was linked to two other platforms. As a result he recommends that the safety regulations with. The headlines kept coming, as did the funerals and memorial services.
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