Offshore Industry Hit by Second Gas Line Incident

The offshore oil and gas industry has been hit by a second gas line incident this month after production at the Brae Alpha platform in the U.K. North Sea was halted when a gas line ruptured over the weekend.

The Marathon Oil operated platform suffered damage after a leak led to a blast in the production train module. No fires ensued, and crew members were able to stay on board the platform which is located about 155 miles northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland. Platform operator Marathon Oil said it is not safe to continue work until investigations into the incident are completed.

Azerbaijan

In a separate incident, fire at Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR’s Platform No. 10 on the Gunashli oil field in the Caspian Sea claimed the lives of at least 32 people on December 4. The crew abandoned the platform, but severe weather hampered attempts to then rescue them from lifeboats. 

Azerbaijan agencies are continuing attempts to extinguish the fire, and 22 people remain missing.  SOCAR said on its website on December 28 that lump-sum financial aid has been paid to the families of the oil workers killed and missing.

Piper Alpha

Perhaps the industry’s most serious gas line accident is the 1988 Piper Alpha explosion. Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum. The explosion and the resulting oil and gas fires destroyed it on July 6, killing 167 men, with only 61 survivors. 

At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten percent of North Sea oil and gas production, and the accident was one of the worst offshore oil disasters in terms of lives lost and industry impact.