What was the main contributor in the 1988 Piper Alpha incident?
Water alone would not have put the oil fires out (and with gas fires one should not even attempt to do so) but it might have cooled the structure and pipelines and have prevented — or at least significantly delayed — the gas line rupture which was the major escalating factor in the Piper Alpha disaster.
How much compensation did Piper Alpha Families get?
The accident cost the Lloyd’s insurance marketmore than £1bn, making it the largest insured man-made catastrophe. Occidental paid out $100m (£66m) to families of the deceased but escaped any kind of criminal or civil sanction.
What went wrong with Piper Alpha?
Piper Alpha exploded and sank on the 6th of July, 1988, killing 165 of the men on board, and a further 2 rescue workers after their rescue vessel, which had been trapped in debris and immobilized, was destroyed by the disintegrating rig.
Who investigated Piper Alpha?
Lord Cullen
Lord Cullen was called to the Scottish Bar in 1960, and appointed judge in 1986. During his time as a judge he conducted three public inquiries into The Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, the shooting at Dunblane Primary School in 1996, and the Ladbroke rail crash in London in 1999.
What caused the giant Piper Alpha oil rig explosion?
What caused Piper Alpha disaster? The primary cause of the accident was ruled to be maintenance work simultaneously carried out on one of the high-pressure condensate pumps and a safety valve, which led to a leak in condensates.
How many died on the Piper Alpha?
167 people
The 1988 Piper Alpha disaster killed 167 people, making it the world’s deadliest oil rig accident in history. Situated just off the coast of Aberdeen, a city famous for its oil rigs and production, the oil platform exploded on July 6 1988.
What could have been done to avoid the Piper Alpha accident?
The firewalls on Piper Alpha could have stopped the spread of a fire. They were, however, not built to withstand an explosion. The initial blast blew the firewalls down. Proper location and fireproofing of emergency shutdown valves are essential in order to cut off fuel supply in case of a fire.
How much money did the Deepwater Horizon survivors get?
Five percent in one day after they agreed to pay $18 billion,” Jones said. While many hail the settlement as an opportunity to begin repairing communities and ecosystems, for Jones and his son’s family, their wounds will never heal.
What was the worst oil rig disaster?
Piper Alpha, UK North Sea, 1988. In 1988, explosions on the Piper Alpha oil platform in the British North Sea killed 167 people. This became the deadliest offshore oil rig accident in history.
Are cell phones allowed on a rig?
Rig Location: ADC prohibits the use of mobile phone during work due to the following reasons.. Mobile phones are distraction device which may harm the employee and cause accidents. Mobile phones may accidentally activate explosives or other electronic based equipment due to the wave generated from the phone.
Who survived the Piper Alpha?
Of the 226 people on board the platform, 165 were killed with only 61 surviving.
Is Deepwater Horizon still there?
After approximately 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon sank on 22 April 2010. The remains of the rig were located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,500 m deep at that location, and about 400 m northwest of the well.
What are the volumes of the Piper Alpha disaster inquiry?
The Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster: Volume 1 The Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster: Volume 2 Resources Offshore publications Research reports Offshore statistics More resources Related content HSE’s Sector and Health priority plans Diving microsite Pipelines microsite Electricity microsite
What happened to the Piper Alpha oil rig?
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. 167 men died and many more were injured and traumatised.
How did people survive the Piper Alpha disaster?
No lifeboats or inflatable life rafts were launched successfully from Piper Alpha. All those who survived did so by making their way to the sea by whatever means they could. This included climbing down knotted ropes and jumping, from as high as the helideck, over 50 metres above sea level.
What happened to the fire pumps on Piper Alpha?
When fire broke out on Piper Alpha, the only way to activate the fire-fighting system was to start the pumps locally. Despite valiant attempts, dense smoke and fire prevented anyone from reaching them. It is not known whether the initial explosion on Piper ruptured the fire water ring main or damaged the control system for the fire pumps.