PIPER ALPHA Worst Offshore Disaster 1998

Rig: Piper Alpha Platform

Date: July 1988

Operator: Occidental

Location: UK Continental Shelf

Fatalities: 167

The Piper Field was discovered by Occidental in January 1973, with the Piper Alpha platform becoming operational in 1976. Located about 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen, the platform initially produced crude oil. In late 1980, gas conversion equipment was installed allowing the facility to produce gas as well as oil. A sub-sea pipeline, shared with the Claymore platform, connected Piper Alpha to the Flotta oil terminal on the Orkney Islands. Piper Alpha also had gas pipelines connecting it to both the Tartan platform and to the separate MCP-O1 gas processing platform. In total, Piper Alpha had four main transport risers: an oil export riser, the Claymore gas riser, the Tartan gas riser and the MCP-01 gas riser.

Explosion and Fire

On 06 July 1988, work began on one of two condensate-injection pumps, designated A and B, which were used to compress gas on the platform prior to transport of the gas to Flotta. A pressure safety valve was removed from compressor A for recalibration and re-certification and two blind flanges were fitted onto the open pipework. The dayshift crew then finished for the day.
During the evening of 06 July, pump B tripped and the nightshift crew decided that pump A should be brought back into service. Once the pump was operational, gas condensate leaked from the two blind flanges and, at around 2200 hours, the gas ignited and exploded, causing fires and damage to other areas with the further release of gas and oil. Some twenty minutes later, the Tartan gas riser failed and a second major explosion occurred followed by widespread fire. Fifty minutes later, at around 2250 hours, the MCP-01 gas riser failed resulting in a third major explosion. Further explosions then ensued, followed by the eventual structural collapse of a significant proportion of the installation.
167 men died as a result of the explosions and fire on board the Piper Alpha, including two operators of a Fast Rescue Craft. 62 men survived, mostly by jumping into the sea from the high decks of the platform. Between 1988 and 1990, the two-part Cullen Inquiry established the causes of the tragedy and made recommendations for future safety regimes offshore. 106 recommendations were made which were subsequently accepted and implemented by the offshore operators.

Aftermath

A number of factors contributed to the severity of the incident:

• the breakdown of the chain of command and lack of any communication to the platform's crew;
• the presence of fire walls and the lack of blast walls - the fire walls predated the installation of the gas conversion equipment and were not upgraded to blast walls after the conversion;
• the continued pumping of gas and oil by the Tartan and Claymore platforms, which was not shut down due to a perceived lack of authority, even though personnel could see the Piper burning.

Wikipedia

Offshore Life -transport to offshore-

Talking about the transportation..
many of us did not know at the offshore also have a main transportation service for everyday activities at the offshore..
it has two main transportation while working at offshore
whether using helicopter or via supply vessel
this two type of transportation is very familiar to offshore workers.

Standby Supply Vessel

A Platform supply vessel (often abbreviated as PSV) is a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil platforms. These ships range from 20 to 100 meters in length and accomplish a variety of tasks. The primary function for most of these vessels is transportation of goods and personnel transfer and from offshore oil platforms and other offshore structures.
A primary function of a platform supply vessel is to transport supplies to the oil platform and return other cargoes to onshore. Cargo tanks for drilling mud, pulverized cement, diesel fuel, potable and non-potable water, and chemicals used in the drilling process comprise the bulk of the cargo spaces. Fuel, water, and chemicals are almost always required by oil platforms. Certain other chemicals must be returned to onshore for proper recycling or disposal, however, crude oil product from the rig is usually not a supply vessel cargo. 

Helicopter

A helicopter (informally called "chopper" is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by engine-driven rotors. same as supply vessel, the primary function of a platform transport supplies and personnel transfer from onshore to offshore and to other platform.

Personnel Transfer Basket

      















FPSO
or A floating production, storage and offloading unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or, less frequently, transported through a pipeline. FPSOs are preferred in frontier offshore regions as they are easy to install, and do not require a local pipeline infrastructure to export oil. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil (without processing it) is referred to as a floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO)

Malaysia International Shipping BUNGA KERTAS FPSO SOUTH CHINA SEA

A bit picture about the transportation for oil and gas at offshore 

Berbisiknya Diri

Berbisik dan berkata lah ia dengan aku......

Satu hari itu pasti dan sebenar untuk aku,datang nya tiada siapa yang menyedari mahupun panca indera manusia, tetapi dimaklumkan ziarahnya setiap detik minit ke atas aku.....

Aku menanti saaat itu kerana itu yang abadi dan nyata buat aku,tetapi ia bercampur gentar jika ia menjemput dalam kelalaiyan dan kekufuran kerana yang menanti adalah kebinasaan yang,
telah di gambarkan dengan penuh nyata dan ngeri di dalam rumah kecil itu,

Aku tahu tiada kelayakan yang terlihat untuk selamat dalam seharian bernafas...tiap hari dan seterusnya adalah hari2 dalam ketakutan buat aku di atas tempat sementara ini.

Lihatlah atas apa yang terjadi pada yang sebelum aku, YA ALLAH !! berkata aku; tidak sangup rasanya aku untuk teruskan perjalanan di atas tanah yang satu hari nanti akan musnah

Aku sedar akan itu
aku tahu akan cerita dan kisah sebelum nya,
namu aku masih leka
sentiasa hanyut dalam pentas ini,
sedar kembali cuma seketika,
kesan nya hanya sebesar kuman...YA ALLAH rasa malang bagi hidupku ini

YA ALLAH

Aku rindu dan terasa ingin untuk berada dalam kelompok yang terawal dengn janji indah itu bersama kekasih yang di raikan, walau aku tahu jasad ini tidak layak..kelalaiyan pengabdian diri, kerapuhan tonggak utama dalam mencari perkara sebenar itu, sentiasa dalam darah beku ini ada bisikan ghaib..

berkata-kata  memohon untuk kurniaan kekuatan, untuk aku guna sebagai perisai menetang musuh aku nyata dan ghaib, aku sangat ingin seperti mereka mengerjakanya, merasa kemanisan nya dan menjadikan ia untuk bekalan bagi satu perjalan yang jauh dan pasti itu,duduk lah aku di satu kawasan yang bawahnya mengalir sungai2 adalah impian aku, melihat kekasih ku, melihat zat nya....

Ya Allah Tinggi Cita-cita aku kepada mu....
Namu tiada kekuatan untuk diriku melaksananya, allah sunggu rugi dalam masa ini.
Tetapi aku akan sentiasa meminta-minta
agar aku tidak menjadi hamba yang rugi, kerana selagi roh ini tidak di jemput mu,
aku tahu itu adalah satu peluang dari mu,

AMIN..........................

Rezeki Di Laut Cina Selataan

 "MEMBELAH LAUT CINA SELATAN UNTUK SESUAP NASI -OFFSHORE LIFE-"

Angsi A from the Setia Wangsa Vessel

     Ini tempat kedua aku mencari rezeki, selepas daratan, mungkin ramai yang tak sangup untuk bekerja di tempat sebegini selama 45 hari minimu,tetapi pada aku asal menjadi lubuk rezeki aku redah aje atau ada yang nak berkerja tetapi tidak kesampian ...

SEEEEDDDDIIIIIIIHHHHH..!

     Terletak 200KM dari Persisir Pantai Terengganu di sini lerrr terleatak medan minyak dan gas yang berkedalaman 75 miter milik Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PCSB). kurang dari 20 platform sama ada Mother Platform atau Satelite platfrom.
Kehidupan di OFFSHORE tidak lah seperti kehidupan di darat atau di atas kapal mewah macam TITANIC tuuuu, hanya cukup untuk keperluan dalam masa bekerja dan masa untuk kumpul duit ehehe...pada aku ia satu pengalaman yang tak semua orang boleh lalui, PAHIT GETIR berada di laut bergelora, hmmmm itu sangat bermakna buat  aku sebagai salah seorang peneroka atau penghuni laut.

Work Area

KENAPA AKU MEMILIH UNTUK BEKERJA DI LAUT..??

        Entah la der.. mungkin sebap minat dengan cabaran yang aku harus harungi setiap kali celik mata sampai aku pejam mata, IMBUHAN... hhhmmm mugkin itu boleh juga jadi salah satu faktor  mengapa aku pilih untuk bekerja di luar pesisir pantai.. tapi pada aku, apa yang pasti aku buat kerana aku minat, kerana BEKERJA BUKANLAH UNTUK MENCARI HARTA KEKAYAAN SEMATA tetapi SEBAGAI SATU IBADAH dalam kehidup seharian dalam dunia sementara ini. kalu nak dikutkan gaji seorang macai (Non Executive) seperti aku ni berapa lah sangat kan, tapi cukup untuk aku menshukuri nikamat itu =)..... ok dude.. heheh.

 AKTIVITI ATAS PLATFORM
Seharian bekerja di atas plantar minyak sememang nya STRESS dengan berbagai masalah dan peraturan yang ketat, yela keselamat platform dan crew adalah sangat penting. oleh sebap itu adalah sedikit Entertainment di sediakan oleh penyedia perkhidmatan untuk anak2 buah nye yang berkerja kat atas PLATFORM ni, cukup untuk
mengisi masa lapang selepas waktu bekerja, ada POOL, ASTRO, PS2, SET CAROK nak melalak sambil lepaskan STRESS,
HOME THEATER pun aaadaaaa tau...
TERIMA KASIH KEPADA PENYEDIA PERKHIDMATAN atas benda yang tak seberapa ni heee...
Ok la kan dari takder...., kalu nak ikut kan memang tak cukup yela sebap STRESS dengn kerja, HOME SICK lagi lepas berminggu duduk kat sana, pada yang bujang OK lagi laaaa.... kena YANG DAH KAWIN...haaaa TAK MASAK ABANG.... AIR NAIK KEPALA YOOBB hahaha... 
adeeeeh letih menaip nie yob..!!! elekk luuuuu nanti sambung lagi...