The inquiry into the occidental petroleum piper alpha disaster was commissioned by the department of energy, their being the uk government body responsible for the operation and safety of offshore oil and gas installations. Lord cullen pictured with a model of the wreckage of the piper alpha at the inquiry at. Piper alpha and the cullen report industrial law journal. The report was previously only available in print at a cost of. Hmso, sets out in minute detail in some 380 pages excluding appendices what happened on the rig in the build up to the. Just after 10 oclock there was an explosion and a fire.
The human dimension of piper alpha always comes first to our minds and remains with us when the precise course of events or the technical implications are. The honourable lord 1990 the public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster department of energy, hmso london cmnd no. Piper alpha on fire shortly after the second explosion. Lord cullen, author of the report on the piper alpha disaster, changed the face of offshore safety. The uk offshore operators response to piper alpha and lord cullens report, paper to society of petroleum engineers, first international conference on health, safety and environment, the hague, 1014 november, pp. Volume 20 issue 3 industrial law journal oxford academic. The first cullen report was prompted by occidental petroleums piper alpha disaster on 6 july 1988, in which gas condensate ignited, killing 167 of the 229 people on board the oil platform in only 22 minutes. Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. The first sign that something was wrong, was when the ceiling fell on ed punchard. He was diving coordinator on the piper alpha oil platform in the north sea, east of scotland, and it was 10 p. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. Oth543 human and organisational factors in offshore safety. This report in two volumes is the final report on the public inquiry into the piper alpha platform disaster in the north sea by a parliamentary commission under lord cullen. Hansard 18032005 1990s 1991 march 1991 7 march 1991 commons sitting bills presented.
The cullen report identifies the failure of the permit to work system on piper alpha as one of. The cullen inquiry revealed, for example, that on the fateful night of 6 july 1988 on the piper alpha platform life rafts would not inflate, automatic fire pumps were switched to manual control, and gas pipelines discharged yet more gas on to an already blazing platform. Faced with this evidence, lord cullens report severely criticised the previous. The third cullen report was a result of lord cullen s. It was right, because all our debates on the subject and almost every action that has been taken on offshore safety since 6 july 1988 stand in the shadow of the terrible event of piper alpha. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download. The 1990 report of the uk public inquiry under lord cullen qc into the causes and circumstances of the piper alpha disaster 8 and of the presidentially appointed u. The focus of tombss piece is the ideology of accident proneness ibid. In november 1988, a public inquiry, led by lord william cullen, was initiated to investigate and establish the cause of the catastrophe, reaching a conclusion almost exactly 2 years.
Monday, september 16, 20 lord cullen, who conducted the month government enquiry into the piper alpha disaster, used his keynote speech at the 20 oil and gas uk conference to question how much the industry has learned since then. Lord cullen made 106 recommendations within his report, all of which were. Posted by james fleming hi folks, i am looking for a link or look at the cullen report in to the piper alpah disaster. Lord cullen was appointed to investigate the disaster. The uk offshore operators response to piper alpha and lord cullen s report, paper to society of petroleum engineers, first international conference on health, safety and environment, the hague, 1014 november, pp. The piper alpha disaster, which remains the worst offshore accident to date, drew the attention of the offshore industry and the regulators to the damage that could arise in the event of an explosion and fire on an offshore platform and triggered many changes that shaped the current offshore regulatory and operating environment. Nov 03, 2011 this report in two volumes is the final report on the public inquiry into the piper alpha platform disaster in the north sea by a parliamentary commission under lord cullen. Jul 03, 2018 an oil platform disaster 30 years ago has grim, but abundant, parallels and lessons for aviation safety. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. Piper alpha cullen report hansard, 7 march 1991 parliament. Oxford university press is a department of the university of oxford. At 10 oclock that night 62 men were working, and 164 men were off duty.
The accident that occurred on board the offshore platform piper alpha in july 1988 killed 167 people and cost billions. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km. The general principle behind lord cullens report is to apply offshore the safety regime which has been applied onshore. Home monuments and statues piper alpha memorial piper alpha memorial the piper alpha disaster bronze memorial in hazlehead park aberdeen with photos and history of the oil rig disaster on the 6th july 1988 at 2204 hours the worlds worst offshore accident occurred when a series of explosions ripped through the occidental platform. The first cullen report was prompted by occidental petroleums piper alpha disaster on 6 july 1988, in which gas condensate ignited, killing 167 of the 229 people on board the oil platform in only 22 minutes dunblane. Piper alpha and the cullen report kenneth miller 1. Those regulations stemmed from the inquiry into the piper alpha disaster by lord william cullen. Piper alpha cullen report hc deb 07 march 1991 vol 187 cc55767 557 10. Introduction it is the purpose of this article to consider and explore some of the health and safety and labour law implications of the piper alpha disaster. Cullen report piper alpha alpha perspectives 6th july this assumption, so easy to criticise with cullen report piper alpha, was based on several premises, the most important being that no event on piper alpha would render the helideck inoperative almost immediately and that sufficient helicopters would be available to evacuate everyone on board. Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. The british offshore oil industry after piper alpha charles. The inquiry was critical of piper alpha s operator. 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.
Piper alpha and the cullen report, industrial law journal, volume 20, issue 3, 1 september 1991, pages 176187. As is well documented, this disaster took place aboard the north sea oil platform, piper alpha, on the evening of july 6 1988 claiming the lives of 165 of the 226 persons on board and. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167. The man who led the public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster said last night that the lessons of the tragedy have not been forgotten. It furthers the universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. It does not imply that one specific disaster is worse than another. That this house, still mourning for the 167 lives lost in the piper alpha disaster, welcomes lord cullen s report which conclusively establishes the appalling negligence of the owners and operators of the oil platform. Lord cullen s report included 106 recommendations that overhauled the uks approach to safety. 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 human dimension of piper alpha always comes first to our minds and remains with us when the precise course of events or the technical implications are no longer to. It outlines the findings of the investigation in vol. After 180 days of proceedings, it released its report public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster short. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files.
Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. On the night of 6 july 1988 there were 226 men on the piper alpha platform, where they earned their living. On 1 april 1991, the uk government announced that the health and. Piper alpha cullen report hansard, 7 march 1991 search help. I am convinced that learning from accidents and incidents is an important way of improving safety performance. The change in safety management for offshore oil and gas. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download news. In 1996, lord cullen led the inquiry into the massacre at dunblane primary school ladbroke grove. It was chaired by the scottish judge william cullen.
In its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Piper alpha proceedings of the february 1991 conference. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. Oth543 human and organisational factors in offshore safety author. The cullen inquiry was set up in november 1988 to establish the cause of the disaster. The crew worked to resolve the issue before platform production was affected. Lecture by brian appleton technical adviser to the enquiry on piper alpha accident. That night 80 million sq ft of gas exploded and burned. Lord cullen pictured with a model of the wreckage of the piper alpha. 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 system for example, bbc tv, 1996 as proof that a former complacency towards standards of. Ukooa united kingdom offshore operators association.
As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha. Cullen report piper alpha pdf title cullen report piper alpha pdf environmental disasters. Piper alpha atform from the,xlpha forll the all pi. Chris wright university of aberdeen interdepartmental offshore study group. 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. Pdf since the death of 167 offshore workers on the piper alpha installation. Forth, while suggesting that he would not preclude the decision and that it was a matter for the hse. 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.
A total of 167 men were killed when explosions ripped. It concluded that the initial condensate leak was the result of maintenance work being carried out simultaneously on a pump and related safety valve. His enquiry ran for 180 days and resulted in a report that examined the causes of the incident, the lessons learned, and issued 106 recommendations for change, all. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha. Piper alpha and the cullen report 20 industrial law. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. 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. In a reply to me on 21 january 1991, the undersecretary of state for employment, the hon.
Piper alpha and the cullen report 20 industrial law journal 1991. The british offshore oil industry after piper alpha. Lord cullen s report was published on 12th november 1990. Jul 01, 2018 30th anniversary of the worlds deadliest offshore oil disaster on july 6, 1988, 167 people died in the piper alpha explosion. The inquiry commenced with a preliminary hearing in aberdeen on 11 november 1988 and lord cullen s report was presented to the secretary of state on the 19 october 1990. Piper alpha lessons not forgotten, lord cullen says. 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. Piper alpha was a large production platform that started production in 1976. On 6 july 1988, 167 men died offshore in the piper alpha tragedy. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. After 180 days of proceedings, 16 it released its report public inquiry into the piper alpha disaster short. Introduction during his investigation of the piper alpha disaster, and in his subsequent report ref. An analysis of the piper alpha disaster and the cullen report will then be.
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