1. UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DEL
GOLFO DE MÉXICO
C ciencia y Tecnología que Transforman
“PETROLEUM ENGINNERING”
NAME: Luis Roberto Ovando Rueda
DEGREE: fifth GROUP: “A”
SUBJECT: ENGLISH V
TEACHER: Lic. Fernando Montejo Perez
PIPER ALPHA

2. GENERAL INFORMATION
Event: Explosion of an oil rig
Location: To 177km of Scotland, North Sea
Company: Occidental Petroleum Corporation OPCAL
Platform:Piper Alpha
Height:198 meters above sea level
Injured People: 61 people
Dead People: 165 people
Production:30,000.00 tons per day
Date of the Tragedy: July 6, 1988

3. PREFACE
Safety in the oil industry has a key role in the performance of any
activity. It allows the successful drilling.
When we talk about the industry, and the processes that it pass, we
understand why the importance of industrial safety in the oil industry.
Even when doing simple tasks like changing a valve, which would have
a major impact on the results of the final work, and the safety of the
operators involved.
Large companies have reported amazing results, even claiming
hundreds of thousands of staff hours worked without injury.
An incident is an event that results in an accident or has the potential
to cause an accident (there is an incident, injury, illness, injury, or other
loss.Unsafe conditions are facilities, teams, machinery and tools are
not able to be used and do work.

4. SPIRAL TOWARD DISASTER
To 177 km from Scotland in
the North Sea was the Piper
Alpha oil field. was gigantic
platform to its maximum
capacity production was thirty
thousand tons of crude oil
daily, but the night of July 6,
1988 the unexpected
happened platform 198 meters
above sea level in less than
three hours, was destroyed by
a big Bang.
The accident piper alpha I can be avoided the unsafe conditions that had where
due the big bang. An oil platform, facilities and equipment on an oil rig systems to
be installed in low risk areas in case of an emergency, then put machinery in high-
risk areas can be fatal.
Work performed on a platform must be done with caution, safety and responsibility
to prevent a tragedy from the beginning in the Piper Alpha bad decisions and
unsafe acts were presents.
In the oil industry communication is
the foundation for success in the
Piper Alpha was not enough
communication between shifts and
not perform the correct operations
on time and cause problems.

5. WORK PERMIT SYSTEMS
Security of the facilities and the
staff working in oil industry is a
risky, their damage incidents
and operations in the industry
requires a system that aims to
secure a working system.
Permission to work with risk is
not simply an application is an
essential part of the system that
allows a secure job.
In the platform piper alpha had a
work permit system disrupted
since months ago, this was an
element key the accident
In the oil industry the hours of job is frequently twelve by twelve therefore the both
shift have that know about all job made by the previous shift.
Most oil rigs have a system safety in case of an accident; the Piper Alpha was no
exception
The Piper Alpha had a sprinkler system that sucks salty sea water in case of a
incensed, activated manually or automatically, the day of the accident was
manually selected, in that they were doing work on pipes.

6. RISK ANALYSIS
Always necessary to conduct a risk analysis
in any situation that requires it, because you
never know what might happen. Sometimes
invest too much in the fire wall is not suitable
for the enterprise, but it is unknown if
someday there will be an accident.
Companies do not spend money on what is
not useful; to do an analysis of how important
it can be to have a security system useful.
One problem was that the Piper Alpha
platform security did not inform the flat they
had to evacuate workers and no safety
instructions I provide lifesaving
The Piper Alpha was the center of a network of platforms in addition to the Piper
Alpha platform were "tartan" and "claymore" that pumped the oil into the Piper
Alpha that increased pumping pressure in the pipeline.
A risk analysis for the oil industry is very important at any time; the analysis of
unsafe conditions, unsafe acts and handling equipment and systems of work is
paramount

7. SAFETY A PRIORITY
AND
INTERRUPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS
The safety in the industry is a priority for all people that
worked in unsafe conditions in oil production there is
always a conflict, the losses are in the millions in profits
when making a bad decisionrecover the level of
production may take three or four days.
In the piper alpha the bad communication was an
element important for the Origen the big explosion, the
platforms Claymore and Tartan not act of correct way
in the decisions, the safety system in the piper alpha
was bad.
In all industry the good communication is the most
important for achieve the objectives.
After enduring the intense heat but most of the platform fell into the sea, of the 226
men who were aboard the Piper Alpha platform only 61 survived the tragedy and
survived mostly by taking the risk to jump 30m from the platform to the sea. The
only part of the platform Piper Alpha which resulted undamaged area was the most
dangerous to the other end of the room
module, 75% of the original platform
disappeared; extreme temperatures
generated by the flames were 1000 ° C
pillars melted platform

8. CONCLUSION
(LESSONS LEARNED)
The case piper alpha is an example of the not safety in the system install and the
not have a criterion definite can cause a big catastrophe.
A system of work permits is the basis of a proper functioning of the activities
undertaken.
An audit of work could have avoided the critical situation between maintenance
and production personnel
In the oil industry communication and authority has an important role in making
good decisions in an emergency using the accident control system had changed
the course of the tragedy, the use of accident and evacuation drills I can be
identified the need for machinery and to confront a sinister entry workers.
Use a command system during the accident, emergency and evacuation drills.
Policies and safety procedures are effective only if they are fully understood; it is a
commitment of all employees.
in the oil industry the safety is a priority for the all people in the job dangerous, the
unsafe condition, unsafe act and incident can be the signals to avoid an accident.