We also use cookies to collect information about how you use hse. The new engineer who must find a path to safety on a burning oil rig. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. The requirement to export gas with the associated separation of condensate was an afterthought and involved extensive modification. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard alpha piper assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. Outline about piper alpha platform the happening event timeline cause of the disaster effect of the disaster key failures improvement and prevention conclusion 2. 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. Various factors which may have played significant role in. Lecture by brian appleton technical adviser to the enquiry on piper alpha accident. But on july 6, 1988, the entire structure became consumed by a devastating and deadly fire. 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 disaster shocked the industry and the general public. It utilizes a case study of the tragic event of the explosion and fire at the piper alpha oil platform in the north sea.
It provides the basis of discussion, analysis and training in a variety of ohs areas, including risk assessment, permit to work, emergency procedures, safety design and more. Bibliography building process safety culture tool kit. Case study presentation on piper alpha and san juanico incident conference on chemical industrial disaster management cidm. Within seconds a major unstabilised crudeoil fire developed and all but the wellhead area and the lower parts of. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167 lives, making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files.
Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. It began exporting oil from the piper oilield discovered. Spiral to disaster piper alpha is a training video that analyzes this industrial tragedy which could have been prevented or averted to improve safety programs. The case for safety the north sea piper alpha disaster. The piper alpha offshore oil and gas platform was owned by occidental petroleum. The piper alpha disaster kindle edition by mcginty, stephen. Tragically, the automatic fire drench system on piper alpha was in manual mode the night of the blast.
The explosion and fire on the piper alpha platform, 6 july. Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the. In 1976 the platform began producing oil then was later converted to add gas production to its capabilities. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry. Piper alpha incident operator and supervisor errors escalated a process safety incident into a disaster. Constructed for oil collection by mcdermott engineering and operated by occidental group, piper alpha was located 120 miles northeast of aberdeen, scotland. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988, killing 167. Footage of the explosion of the piper alpha platform in the north sea. Preventing piper alpha and iso 3 nicholas and smith. The retrofitting went on in several phases, starting with separation of condensate and ending with production of exportquality gas. The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was. The piper alpha disaster which killed 167 workers on 6 july 1988 off the coast of aberdeen is the worldsdeadliest ever oil rig accident. For example, prior to the disaster, auditing on piper alpha often identified some of risks that contributed to the explosion but instead of the audit findings being analysed and evaluated two elements in the process outlined in the iso 3, they were ignored.
In the aftermath of the personal tragedies came the inevitable selfexamination and uncertainty. The headlines kept coming, as did the funerals and memorial services. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry disaster. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading fire in the night. Rae, business consultant and survivor of the piper alpha disaster that occurred on july 6, 1988.
Piper alpha was designed to produce and export oil. London the first report on the cause of piper alpha oil rig disaster that killed 167 men, released thursday, said it was may have followed an explosion in. Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. Different trends of impact were observed from the consequence and aftermath of the incidents. 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.
Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. A whistleblower has warned that a system of safety representatives set up to underpin the integrity of oil and gas platforms in the north sea following the piper alpha explosion is being made a. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988. 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. In the official investigation report of the piper alpha disaster written by lord cullen. Case study presentation on piper al pha and san juanico incident conference on chemical industrial disaster management cidm. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil and gas.
Read chapter 2 the piper alpha and the deepwater horizon. As part of its macondo investigation, the csb held a public hearing in december 2010 on the international use of. But on july 6, 1988, the entire structure became consumed by a. Last month, a rededication ceremony and remembrance service marking the 25th anniversary of the piper alpha disaster was held in the newly restored memorial garden in aberdeens hazlehead park. It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it. Failure of process safety management on every level. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited. 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.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Furthermore, macondo raises regulatory concerns for the us just as the 1988 piper alpha disaster. Occupational health management of police officers involved. Piper alpha incident during the platform fire in 1988, virtually nothing went right, which allows us to draw lessons from a long list of events leading to the hazard. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Could people better trained in oil and gas safety procedures have prevented it, or stopped the.
What caused the giant piper alpha oil rig explosion. For similar platforms and for a welldefined class of accidents, however, this study is the. Highlights we analyzed financial impact of catastrophic incidents based on three case studies. The piper alpha a large fixed platform was located in the piper field in. Alpha disaster in 1988 in which 167 offshore workers died. 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. 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. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion in july 1988, in one of the worst. One of theworst accidents has happened was the piper alpha incident. The designs and operating procedures, which for so long had seemed.
Piper alpha 25 years on have we learned the lessons. The piper alpha incident is still regarded as the worst offshore oil disaster in the history of the uk. First report on piper alpha disaster released upi archives. Also, the probability of such an accident could be made arbitrarily small by controlling the level of detail in which the accident is described. The controversy around it was heightened when a report. 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. Fire in the night relives the tragic events that occurred on the piper alpha rig on 6th july 1988. Pdf this article compares two industrial disasters in the offshore oil industry, the explosion and fire on piper alpha off the coast of. 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. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Piper alpha was a large oil production platform in the north sea about 170 kilometers northeast of aberdeen.
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