Piper alpha the house of lords landmark decision gard. On the surface, she looks like a brave survivor of a plane crash. Jul 04, 2008 piper alpha was the largest platform by production in the world in its era 317,000 barrelsday, peak. The piper alpha platform is the largest and oldest platform in the north sea oilfield. Sir brian appletons lecture broadcast by the bbc provides an incredibly useful insight into the piper alpha disaster and the subsequent enquiry. The piper alpha disaster reprints by mcginty, stephen isbn.
Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km. 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. Dec 12, 2011 one of theworst accidents has happened was the piper alpha incident. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. Piper alpha lessons still guide safety the australian. Explosives set to clear piper alpha wreckage heraldscotland. An explosion an resultin ile an gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 julie 1988, killin 167 fowk, includin twa crewmen o a rescue veshel. The piper alpha disaster led to the strike action of the offshore oil workers, they wanted better health and safety conditions in the oil industry, and in the 1989 the formation of the offshore industry liaison committee oilc took place. The resulting debris from the explosion in module c was believed to have ruptured a weak condensate pipe in the adjacent module b once the. The piper alpha oil rig disaster occurred about 9 months prior to the initial.
The mangled wreckage of the piper alpha oil platform is to be demolished on tuesday, oil company occidental said last night. The aberdeen woman was only 21 with a sixmonthold son, rikki when her dad, stanley sangster, was among the 167 victims of the piper alpha disaster on july 6, 1988. But shes been lying to her family, her friends, and the whole world since rescue helicopters scooped her and her fellow survivor, dave hall, off a deserted island in the south pacific. Piper alpha wis an ile production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km northeast o aiberdeen, scotland. Images feature the piper alpha accommodation block salvage. A part of life by john mortimer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The piper alpha disaster of 6th july 1988 resulted in the deaths of 167 men, injuries to 62 survivors and the total destruction of the oil platform by a series of explosions and fires. When he details the unfortunate history of fires, explosions, even collapses, of rigs, the piper alpha disaster is put. Geoff bollands working in the control room of piper alpha.
The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was affected. Piper alpha is part of wikiproject fire service, which collaborates on fire servicerelated subjects on wikipedia. 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, owned by occidental petroleum, began production in 1976 at the piper oil field, which is owned by the opcal joint venture jv. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988, killing 167. In aberdeen, the kirk of st nicholas in union street has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who died, containing a book of remembrance listing them. Next day flying past the smoking wreckage still did not bring this tragedy home in. Piper alpha platform when the piper alpha platform in the uk sector of the north sea was lost as a result of a series of explosions and fire in july 1988, most of the platform collapsed and the deck structures fell to the seabed, leaving only the wellhead module and flare booms visible over the surface of the sea. Offshore workers and their loved ones marked the 29th anniversary of the piper alpha disaster yesterday. Spaces for reflection have grown in importance to bereaved families over the. Piper alpha survivors recall disaster 25 years on business. Remembering the piper alpha disaster berghahn journals. 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. The piper alpha disaster and the strike action of fshore oil workers 1183 words 5 pages.
But after reading a book, he found he shoved mike jennings. Aberdeen, meanwhile, was a stunned city that was grappling for a way forward. For similar platforms and for a welldefined class of accidents, however, this study is the. Daughter of piper alpha victim putting together tribute book. Others found themselves trapped underwater by burning bits of debris. Bibliography building process safety culture tool kit. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells.
A chinook helicopter went into the sea a mile and a half from shore. An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed piper alpha on 6 july 1988, killing 167 men. It was last inspected two weeks ago but last week there was a small fire on the rig. The sea king takes on the devastating 1988 piper alpha oil rig tragedy.
Cullen report left no stone unturned press and journal. Life in alpha world has been a blessing for albure want to read. Jun 27, 2018 remembering piper alpha 30 years on june 27, 2018 the names of the 167 men who tragically lost their lives in the piper alpha disaster will be read aloud at a special memorial service taking place in aberdeen next week on the 30 th anniversary. Late in the evening of 06 july 1988, a series of explosions ripped through the piper alpha platform in the north sea.
A dan air plane carrying oil workers on leave crashed on takeoff. The death toll included two crewmen of a rescue vessel. Sea, with the wreckage of the piper alpha, because it was deemed too expensive. A book, bound by the royal college of arms, dedicated to the memory of. Sir brian appleton acted as a technical adviser during lord cullens inquiry into the piper alpha disaster. Lord cullen pictured with a model of the wreckage of the piper alpha at the inquiry at aberdeen. He estimated the recovery at piper alpha would take 200 working days spread over two to three years, but he was unable to estimate the cost. Oct 18, 2011 with the same meticulous research employed in books on sea explorer jacques cousteau and the mysteries of the oceans, matsen jacques cousteau. It was built in the north sea by a consortium run by occidental and dr. Importance learning from major incident piper alpha disaster. The vast inferno created by simultaneous eruptions from ruptured gas and. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. 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. 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. Piper alpha marked 29 years later news for the oil and. Lecture by brian appleton technical adviser to the enquiry on piper alpha accident. The piper alpha disaster kindle edition by mcginty, stephen. Step change in safetys remembering piper the night that changed our world was screened as part of a workforce involvement day at aberdeen exhibition and conference centre. Abstract the piper alpha disaster remains the most significant event in the history of the. Thatcher snubbed piper alpha vigil news for the oil and.
Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil. In a meticulouslyplanned operation, explosive cutting charges will be. The piper alpha oil rig was reduced to a twisted wreck after following the disaster 30 years ago credit. 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.
Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. Jul 04, 20 e ven 25 years on, charles haffeys most powerful memory of the piper alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading fire in the night. A total of 167 men died in what is considered the worlds worst deadliest oil rig fire. The rig produced oil, gas and condensate primarily propane and was linked to two other drilling platforms via large undersea pipelines.
Part of the the plenum series on stress and coping book series ssso. Piper alpha the tragedy that changed so much for so many. Both oil and gas was pumped from the two other platforms to piper alpha and subsequently pumped to shore. Piper alpha the tragic event of piper alpha occurred when this massive oil platform in the north sea succumbed to explosion and fire, resulting in the loss of 167 lives. 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.
Jul 06, 20 roy thomson, from keith, scotland, thought hed killed a fellow worker after leaping from the inferno on piper alpha, in the north sea. 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. Pa the ongoing inquiry into the tower block disaster in london last year has heard evidence about the. This book is included with kindle unlimited membership. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Professionalismpiper alpha oil rig disaster wikibooks. This is one of the 10 dvds in the acclaimed bbc series now available in a totally new format with expert training support material. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. The majority of the victims suffocated in toxic fumes that developed after a gas leak set off the blasts and sparked the fire. First, the public inquiry has just begun and it is likely to continue for about 6 to 9 months or longer.
A new online educational resource to help teach scottish schoolchildren about the piper alpha disaster has been launched by first minister alex salmond on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files. 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. It was initially constructed as an oil production platform and was later converted to facilitate gas production, with a new gas recovery module being added. 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. The accident that occurred on boardthe offshore platform piper alpha in july 1988 killed 167 peoples and cost billions of dollars inproperty damages. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. Sep 02, 2015 farewell to piper alpha rescue vessel the ship that played a key role rescuing survivors of the piper alpha tragedy is to be scrapped after 34 years at sea. The piper alpha oil rig disaster occurred about 9 months prior to the initial preparation of this chapter. The piper alpha was once the biggestproducing oil rig in history. From piper alpha to the gulf war paperback 18 sep 2015. Jul 06, 2018 a piper alpha memorial statue to the fallen oil workers who died on july 6 1988 image.
Jul 05, 20 memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of the piper alpha oil rig disaster 111 piper alpha 11. And who doesnt know about the fire on the piper alpha drilling platform. Remembering piper alpha film premieres in aberdeen youtube. Twentyfive years after the diver was among the first to arrive at the burning wreckage of the piper alpha oil and gas platform, which remains the. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. The controversy around it was heightened when a report. Breakup of the firewall between the b and c modules of the. Piper alpha was a large offshore rig based 100km off the coast of aberdeen. Piper alpha 25 years on have we learned the lessons. Jul 15, 20 one hundred and sixty seven people died in the piper alpha fire on 6 july 1988, making it the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. I consider this a very well written book about the alpha piper rig fireand. Memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of the piper.
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. It is, however, still a live and emotional issue for several reasons. Piper alpha disaster news, views, gossip, pictures. It began production in 1976, 2 initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production.
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