Hughes risk management sample accident and incident. Piper alpha disaster, condolences and tributes are not enough. Accident investigation 4 introduction the incident covered in this study is piper alpha disaster which took place in 1988. 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 survivors recall disaster 25 years on business. 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. It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it was the site of the worlds. See how a series of splitsecond decisions and tragic twists of fate will determine who survives historys deadliest offshore accident. There were many warnings that all was not well with safety management systems on piper alpha long before the accident. 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. Accident introduction the piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleumcaledonialtd.
This paper examines the following aspects of offshore safety in oil and gas production systems before and after the piper alpha disaster. European commission joint research centre institute for energy and transport contact information. Piper alpha disaster news, views, gossip, pictures, video. Annual publication included accident statistics until 1993.
Home year one case studies piper alpha accident tuesday, october, 2015 piper alpha accident the piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. British sector north sea oil field 120 miles aberdeen scotland 4 5. 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. 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. The first cullen report was prompted by occidental petroleums piper alpha disaster on 6 july, in which gas condensate. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download. Witness some of the harrowing stories of the 1988 explosion at piper alpha. The accident highlighted the inadequacies of both the permit to work and the shift handover procedures. Tragically, the automatic fire drench system on piper alpha was in manual mode the night of the blast. She was also supplied with gas from tartan field that was exported along with her own produced gas.
As shifts changed and the night crew aboard alpha piper assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. The death toll included two crewmen of a rescue vessel. The management of occupational health and safety in the. As a result of the piper alpha accident, doe will be stripped of its responsibility for offshore safety. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167 lives, making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. As details of the causes of the disaster emerged, every offshore operator carried out. Managing the risks of organizational accidents based on james reasons book. Jul 01, 2019 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. The piper alpha incident is still regarded as the worst offshore oil disaster in the history of the uk. She was one of the largest oil producing platforms in the north sea at that time, exporting the processed oil to flotta terminal in orkney.
Julian turner charts the safety improvements that have taken place in the 25 years since the worst accident in the history of the oil and gas industry. Detailed causation and findings report to the client for onward submission to. The piper alpha disaster which killed 167 workers on 6 july 1988 off the coast of aberdeen is the worldsdeadliest ever oil rig accident. Lecture by brian appleton technical adviser to the enquiry on piper alpha accident.
Jul 05, 20 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. Reliability engineering and system safety, vol 95, issue 11, 2010, pp. For similar platforms and for a welldefined class of accidents, however, this study is the. Pdf the longterm psychological effects of surviving a major disaster are poorly understood.
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. We will put even greater emphasis on workforce engagement, safe working essentials and major accident hazards, and we have committed to repeating our boots on for safety campaign, which we ran in 2006. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. Investigations into these incidents highlighted deficiencies in. Also, the probability of such an accident could be made arbitrarily small by controlling the level of detail in which the accident is described. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited. Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. Sir brian appletons lecture broadcast by the bbc provides an incredibly useful insight into the piper alpha disaster and the subsequent enquiry. The government inquiry into piper alpha, headed by lord cullen, was given two tasks, first to determine the cause of the disaster and, secondly, to recommend how similar disasters could be prevented. Aug 20, 20 the piper alpha disaster in 1988 shocked the world, and changed offshore safety management and legislation in the north sea beyond recognition. Legacy of accident the cullen inquiry is set up in november 1988. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion.
Pdf survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. 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 disaster 2003, and the bp texas city refinery explosion 2005. So other platforms continued production and pumping of gas for sometime which supplied additional fuel to the fire at piper. On july 6, 1988, explosions and fire on this north sea oil production platform killed 167. Just a sample of presentation format for piper alpha disaster cause which may help u in preparation for something like this in the future. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files. This framework is extended to include the human decisions and actions that have influenced the occurrences of these basic events, and their organizational roots. Piper alpha was a north sea oil production platform operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. Occidental piper alphas operator, which was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures. 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 began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. Jun 24, 2014 dokumenter mengenai ledakan anjungan lepas pantai piper alpha di north sea.
A probabilistic risk analysis pra framework is used to identify the accident sequence of the 1988 piper alpha accident. The cullen report said this role should be transferred to the. A massive fireball 150 metres in diameter engulfed piper alpha, killing two crewmen on a fast rescue boat launched from the standby vessel sandhaven and the six piper alpha crewmen they had rescued from the water. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil. It began production in 1976, 2 initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. A disaster which could have been, if not totally adverted, dramatically changed in course without the horrible loss of human life. Dokumenter mengenai ledakan anjungan lepas pantai piper alpha di north sea. The case pdf to pdb mac osx of the piper alpha accident is particularly interesting for several.
The accident killed 165 out of 226 crew members and two crew members from the standby vessel sandhaven. The vast inferno created by simultaneous eruptions from ruptured gas and. Managing the risks of organizational accidents author. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed.
An explosion on the piper alpha platform occurred in july 1988. The operating companies cite the o5 billion targeted for improvements in safety since piper alpha for example, brandie, 19945, and the apparent success of the post piper alpha safety committee. What caused the giant piper alpha oil rig explosion. We undertook a survey of survivors of the piper alpha oil.
An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on 6 jul 1988, killing 168 men, 3 with only 61 survivors. 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. Two men implicated in the chain of events which ended with the piper alpha oil rig disaster could have been wrongly blamed, according to a bbc television documentary. Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the. It concluded that the initial condensate leak was the result of maintenance work being carried out simultaneously on a pump and related safety valve. Less than a year earlier, on 07 september 1987, a contract rigger was killed in an accident on piper alpha.
About piper alpha 35 in 1976 platform started production of oil. May 06, 20 july 6, 1988, piper oilfield, north sea. Occidental piper alpha s operator, which was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was affected. The change in safety management for offshore oil and gas. Piper alpha continued to export just under 120,000 barrels of oil.
It began production in 1976, but on july 6, 1988 it. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Piper alpha presentation free download as powerpoint presentation. Copyright jim thomson 20 safety in engineering ltd piper. Bibliography building process safety culture tool kit. The platform began production in 1976,first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. 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 disaster pdf piper alpha was a large pdf to doc mac freeware north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. A massive explosion 120 miles out to sea ignites a fight for survival for 226 men. Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. Review of major ideas, recent contributions, and challenges. 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.
The inquiry commenced with a preliminary hearing in aberdeen on 11 november 1988 and lord cullens report was presented to the secretary of state on the 19 october 1990. Introduction an explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on july 6,1988, killing 167 men. 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 module. It was caused by a massive fire, which was not the result of an unpredictable act of god but of. Personal safety over process safety fire water pumps on manual start to protect divers. The controversy around it was heightened when a report. Jul 04, 20 e ven 25 years on, charles haffeys most powerful memory of the piper alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. Piper alpha was an oil production platform on north sea, approximately 110 miles from aberdeen, which was operated by occidental petroleum caledonia ltd. Professionalismpiper alpha oil rig disaster wikibooks. Accident and the piper alpha disaster, both demonstrated the need for. It accounted for around ten per cent of the oil and gas production from north sea at the time.
It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by. Risk analysis and risk management for offshore platforms. A postmortem analysis of the technical and organizational factors. Nov 11, 2006 footage of the explosion of the piper alpha platform in the north sea. The piper alpha was built at mcdermotts offshore construction yard for occidental petroleum to extract hydrocarbons from the piper field in the north sea. Pipe lift raft on its aunching platform efore h, init. The tartan platform has been continuing to pump gas to piper alpha, the intense heat and. On july 6, 1988, in the piper oilfield, north sea, the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry disaster took place. E ven 25 years on, charles haffeys most powerful memory of the piper alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. The sixtyone survivors of the piper alpha accident survived because they disobeyed the standing instructions.
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. These include the 1974 flixborough accident, the 1976 seveso incident and the 1987 piper alpha disaster. Sir brian appleton acted as a technical adviser during lord cullens inquiry into the piper alpha disaster. In 1978 piper alpha was modified to process and export the natural gas to comply with uk gas conservation requirements 5 6. 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.
Group, piper alpha was located 120 miles northeast of. The operating companies cite the o5 billion targeted for improvements in safety since piper alpha for example, brandie, 19945, and the apparent success of the post piper alpha. 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 will dominate our industry when situation awareness is compromised between shift workers. Frontline scotland, which will be shown on tuesday night, questions the longheld view that the inferno in july 1988 which claimed the lives of 167 men was sparked by a single. Piper alpha atform from the,xlpha forll the all pi.
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