The oil and gas industry has seen its share of disasters through the years, but on July 6, 1988, disaster struck the North Sea in a fashion that had never been witnessed at any other time during the history of the industry. The legacy of the Occidental Piper Alpha, which sat 474 feet above the sea floor and was operated by Occidental Petroleum, had come to a tragic end taking 167 souls with it. The oil and gas platform was the most productive in the North Sea at the time it was destroyed by fire. It was the disaster of the Piper Alpha that prompted many changes in the oil and gas industry and exposed what could go terribly wrong if procedures were not to be followed correctly. The disaster has also changed the design of today’s oil platforms, making them safe as possible.
It was only after the “Lord Cullen Report” was finalized that the world would have a better knowledge about the causes that led to the disaster of the Piper Alpha. Although the investigation hit its road bumps with very little physical evidence, eyewitness information and accounts of what led up to the disaster helped to give a clearer picture to investigators. It was through eyewitness accounts that concluded that a cloud of flammable hydrocarbon was released into the air when a relief valve from a pump had been removed for maintenance, and the pump restarted. It was this cloud that eventually would find an ignition source and set off the world’s worst oilfield disaster in history.
To first understand what went wrong with the Piper Alpha, one first must understand what the platform was and what went wrong on that dreadful day in July of 1988. The Piper, which began first producing oil in 1976, was a large fixed platform located 120 miles north of Aberdee...
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...ccidental had been forewarned two years earlier when a study that was ordered by Occidental Petroleum had shown that the gas lines attached to the Piper Alpha were dangerous because of the amount of time that it would take to reduce the pressure if ever needed to do so (Piper Alpha Platform Disaster). Both the Claymore and Tartan should have been shut down immediately following the first call.
Although the world’s worst offshore disaster occurred on July 6, 1988, to this day, 30 bodies have yet to be recovered. A memorial monument pays homage to those souls within the beautiful Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is affixed with three oilfield workers, on top of a tomb, dressed in work clothes and wearing proper protection. It is a true work of art that remembers the lives of just a handful that have worked to bring the world its oil and gas.
William G. Skelly, also known as Bill Skelly, made waves in the oil and aviation industry with his many accomplishments and contributions. From founding the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology to organizing the first International Petroleum Exposition Skelly has carved his name in history as being one of the giants in the oil industry as well as a great leader and entrepreneur. From early on Skelly showed tremendous dedication and work ethic to become the man that he was. With the anniversary of his passing vastly approaching, I would like to honor him by talking about his life and some of many accomplishments he made to both the aviation and oil industry.
The British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the worst ecological catastrophes in human history, causing vast damage to a fragile and beautiful ecosystem while at the same time calling attention to the deficits in current approaches to energy prospecting, risk management, and cleanup. This analysis of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will devote attention to the following questions: (a) What kind of technology is in use for deep-sea oil extraction, what are the factors that accounted for the BP catastrophe, what were the statistical components of the spill in terms of volume and concentration, and what was the spatio-temporal scale of the oil spill? (b) What were the environmental (physical, biological, hydrological, and atmospheric) impacts of the oil spill, in addition to the economic and social impacts? (c) What were the scientific, technological, and policy solutions implemented by various actors to pursue the cleanup of coastal areas, wildlife, and wetlands damaged by the oil spill? (d) What is the feasibility of long-term biodiversity conservation measures and the limits of such solutions?
Two days before the crash occurred, an engineer on a separate trip had reported some trouble with the locomotive’s engine. Despite the concerns with the engine, the locomotive was put at the head of the train and was bound for Nantes. The engineer, Tom Harding, noticed that the engine was surging, making it difficult to keep a steady pace. By the time that the train arrived in Nantes, it was spewing enough smoke and oil that the taxi driver noticed oil landing on the cab’s window. Mr. Harding reported and discussed the issue with a rail traffic controller who was in Bangor, Maine. Both agreed to deal with the matter the following morning. The locomotive was then left
Scarlett, M. (1977). Consequences of offshore oil and gas-Norway,Scotland, and Newfoundland. St. John's: Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Even though there were many factors contributing to the Challenger disaster, the most important issue was the lack of an effective risk management plan. The factors leading to the Challenger disaster are:
Many businesses that sell seafood had to cut back on it for the past few months. It has been since April that businesses are now selling shellfish back on the menu for a somewhat reasonable price. A major incident occurred just two days before Earth Day. The incident is well known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, or as many others call it, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig along the Gulf of Mexico is an oil-spill that resulted from an explosion that is under contract with BP, leading up to over million barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. This incident has led to many controversies. Arguments in discussion are whether or not we should continue to drill offshore, what exactly went wrong, and why none of the safeties were unable to activate.
In the first case the judge would like to show the 3 men sympathy but he believes he isn’t above the law, he sentences the death penalty. The philosophical label of this judge is legal positivism. One thing that the judge says to back this up is “As much as I would personally wish that these men could return to their families and put this tragic event behind them, I cannot permit them to do so. I am not free to make the law”. This quote showed that this judge was a legal positivist because he says that he wants to show them sympathy and let them return to their families, but he is not free to make the law and he is not above the law. Another quote to back this up is “I have sworn an oath to apply the law that authorized legislators have enacted”. Similar to the last quote, the judge is showing that whether he wants to be sympathetic or not he cannot because he has sworn an oath to the law that he cannot break. One weakness of this theoretical approach is that it is very ruthless. These men did not have a choice, killing Ozzie was the only way for the men to
Saundry, Peter. "Exxon Valdez oil spill." Exxon Valdez oil spill. 9 June 2010. The Encyclopedia
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing 11 workers and injuring 17. The oil rig sank a day-and-a-half later. The spill was referred to as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP oil spill, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and BP oil disaster. It was first said that little oil had actually leaked into the ocean but a little over a month later the estimate was 12,000-19,000 barrels of crude oil being leaked per day. Many attempts were made to stop the leak but all failed until they capped the leak on July 15, 2010, and on September 19 the federal government declared the well “effectively dead.” In the three months that it took to finally put a stop the leak, 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the ocean. The spill caused considerable damage to marine and wildlife habitats and the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. The White House energy advisor, Carol Browner, goes as far to say that the Deepwater oil spill is the “worst environmental disaster the US has faced.”
A further look at facts of the incident, analysis of the risk management issues and evaluation and recommendation of BP’s response to the crisis will be presented in this report.
On a Monday afternoon, A couple of friends and I drove about forty-five minutes to El Dorado to see a movie. A movie in which we didn’t know anything about. None of us had even seen the trailer. I sent my friend a link to the movies that were showing at the cinema in El Dorado, and she had chosen Deepwater Horizon solely on the fact she liked the actors that had been cast for the movie. A few of these actors included Mark Wahlberg and Kate Hudson. Deepwater Horizon, as I came to find out on the car ride there, is about the most devastating oil spill in United States history. Since this event occurred only roughly six years ago, I recognized it after my friend called it the BP oil spill. Growing up in south Arkansas, I know many people that work on oil rigs so the spill was something that came close to home. The movie portrays the events leading up to the rig explosion and the aftermath concerning the people aboard the rig.
A few weeks after the explosion, investigations began. First to explore the tragic scene was the United Stats Naval Court of Inquiry, located in Key West. They discovered that a naval mine caused the explosion. Researchers, Del Peral and De Salas conducted another investigation the same year and collected information given to them by surviving...
According to an online article from Thought Company, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill polluted the waters of Prince William Sound, coated more than a thousand miles of pristine coastline and killed hundreds of thousands of birds, fish, and animals. This crisis has become a symbol of human-caused environmental disasters all over the world. Many years after the accident, and despite billions of dollars spent on cleanup efforts, crude oil can still be found under the rocks and sand on the beaches of southwest Alaska, and the effects of the spill are still apparent in the lasting damage done to many native species. (West, 2017) This specific incident was a major crisis that acted as a prodrome for the oil industry. For the purpose of this assignment it is important that we take a look at the details of this event. From there, we will look at how Exxon handled the
The fire grew so big that it started to attack the people around the dock and started to burn them. Then it happened the ammonium nitrate exploded and destroyed the boat. Where the ammonium nitrate was stored it blew a huge hole in the side of the boat and and almost completely blew the boat in half. The destruction of the explosion was so bad that it destroyed the whole town of Texas City. The shock of the explosion was so bad that people felt it in louisiana two hundred and fifty miles away.
This was a tragedy that could have been avoided, and other spills could have been avoided as well. Emphasizes should be placed on how to prevent future accidents or spills. Though each spill is different, they all have similar characteristics. Some lesson learned from previous spills was applied to the deep horizon oil spill. The economic, health, political and environmental impact of this spill will be felt years later since it is too early to tell the lasting effect of this spill. However, it is possible to tell the long term effects based on previous spills. Contingencies should be in place to deal with long term mental health effects.