Tribute to the victims of Piper Alpha.....
Most of you must have heard about this worst ever disaster in the history of oil and gas offshore industry. On 6 July 1988, during the late hours of the darkness the disaster occurred what the offshore oil industry never thought that it would occur. More than 20 years later since 167 men lost their lives in the Piper Alpha disaster, a night those caught up in the tragedy will never forget. Most of the victims suffocated in toxic fumes which developed following a gas leak in the platform set off a series blasts and sparked the fire. Total insured loss was $ 3.4 billion. There were 229 men on board during the incident night and only 62 managed to escape from the burning platform.
The Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum Ltd. It accounted for around ten per cent of the oil and gas production from the North Sea at that time. The platform began production in 1976 first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production.
On that day, work began on one of two condensate-injection pumps, designated A and B, which were used to compress gas on the platform prior to transport of the gas to Flotta. A pressure safety valve was removed from compressor A for recalibration and re-certification and two blind flanges were fitted onto the open pipe work. The dayshift crew then finished for the day.
During the evening of 06 July, pump B tripped and the nightshift crew decided that pump A should be brought back into service. Once the pump was operational, gas condensate leaked from the two blind flanges and, at around 2200 hours, the gas ignited and exploded, causing fires and damage to other areas with the further release of gas and oil. Some twenty minutes later, the Tartan gas riser failed and a second major explosion occurred followed by widespread fire. Fifty minutes later, at around 2250 hours, another gas riser failed resulting in a third major explosion. Further explosions then ensued, followed by the eventual structural collapse of a significant proportion of the installation.
The survivors are left with memories not only of lost friends and workmates, but of a horrifying experience, and those memories will never leave them. They bear psychological scars, and many of them also suffered physical damage.
This thread is dedicated to those 167 men who lost their lives during that fateful night. But although they are not anymore in this world, their love and affection will be embedded in the hearts of their friends and relatives.
Esther you are looking quite desperate and men don't like that, and you are hijacking a thread meant to respect the men who died in a horrific accident!
Majority of the people who managed to escape from the platform, never wanted to work on offshore platforms anymore...
I have never been a fan of HSE types, but the tragedy did act as a wake up call and made things safer for the future.
When you cut corners, you are putting yourself and others around you at peril not only at your workplace but in your daily routine work as well.
My friend was a psychologist helping the survivors....really awful and horrifying....
Remember it well.. Used to work for Brown & Root just prior to this happening..
A real tragedy.. RIP hose who lost their lives..
Until 1988, the oil and gas industry never thought about, or infact prepared for emergency management, enforcing stringent risk assessment and management of change. Paying homage to those who trapped in the platform and never met thier friends and relatives...
I met some men that actually survived this disaster by doing the opposite of what they were told to do. God Bless those that perished and hopefully more will be done to never let it happen again.