Oil industry remembers Piper Alpha disaster

The global offshore oil and gas industry is remembering the US$3.5 billion Piper Alpha disaster that destroyed the platform and killed 167 workers in the North Sea. It is the 29th anniversary of the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.

Piper Alpha was producing around 10 per cent of the UK’s oil when a fire and multiple explosions ripped the platform apart on 6 July 1988. Only 61 onboard workers survived the explosions on the platform.

What made the inferno worse was that Piper Alpha was the hub for oil and gas from the Tartan and Claymore platforms. Hydrocarbons from these platforms continued to feed the fire for hours after the initial explosion. One of the explosions killed crewmen on standby vessel Sandhaven.

There were many lessons learnt and changes to safety regimes in the UK after the Piper Alpha disaster, including the permit-to-work system used across the North Sea oil industry. The disaster also changed the way oil and gas production platforms were designed.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) workers union has continued to be vocal on offshore safety matters and urged the industry to remember the disaster. Its general secretary Mick Cash commented: “Piper Alpha will always cast a long shadow over the North Sea and the global offshore oil and gas industry, serving as a constant reminder of the need for rigorous and continuously improving safety standards.”

He continued: “We repeat our commitment to securing and enforcing those standards for the current generation of offshore workers. In doing so, we serve the memory of those who lost their lives in such appalling circumstances.”