Piper Alpha ; 25 years on Piper Alpha was aNorth Sea oil production platform operated byOccidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.The platform began production in 1976,first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and the resulting oil and gas fires destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men,with only 61 survivors.The death toll includes two crewmen of a rescue vessel.Total insured loss was about 1.7 billion (US$3.4 billion). At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten percent ofNorth Sea oil and gas production, and was the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.The Cullen Inquiry was set up in November 1988 to establish the cause of the disaster.After 180 days of proceedings, it released its reportPublic Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster (short:Cullen Report) in November 1990. It concluded that the initial condensate leak was the result of maintenance work being carried out simultaneously on a pump and relatedsafety valve.The inquiry was critical ofPiper Alpha's operator, Occidental, which was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures, but no criminal charges were ever brought against the company.The second part of the report made 106 recommendations ...
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