01.14.08 - 11:23 am

i read a story at work yesterday after following a trail or links and connections all stemming from the movie SUNSHINE.

to me the event read like something out of a summer disaster movie: the story started with mundane routines, paperwork and employees going about their usual tasks. then, inevitably, the machine breaks down. one mistake leads to another. with the mistakes come coordinated situations following an unfortunate series of events that only encourage the unfolding drama and thus sealing the fate for disaster.

the sixth of july. 1988. seated off the cold coast of scotland, the Piper Alpha was a large oil platform that had been recently converted to a gas prodction platform. owned by the Occidental Petroleum company and pulling from 24 wells, the structure was responsible for producing 10 percent of the oil and gas from the North Sea. two hundred and twenty nine employees were at work that day.

1200 pm
a condensate pump pressure safety valve was removed for routine maintenance. temporarily sealing the pipe was a flat metal disc. the disc was to remain in place for most of the day into the evening, as explained in the permit the on duty engineer filed, explicity detailing that the pump was not to be switched on under any circumstances.

600 pm
the day shift ends and the evening staff begin their work. sixty two men are now operating the platform. the on duty custodian was busy, so before retiring for the evening, the engineer places the permit in the control center. this permit disappears. however, a permit issued earlier is seen, describing a general overhaul of the pump that had yet to begin. the pieces are in place.

700 pm
divers were currently working under the platform and due to Piper Alpha procedures, the automatic firefighting system was switched to manual operation. this prevented the divers from being sucked into the massive pumps used to suck seawater into the platform in case of fire. check.

945 pm
one of the two condensate pumps stops functioning unexpectedly, and cannot be restarted. the entire power supply for the offshore construction work depended on this pump. the platform manager had only minutes to restart this pump or else the entire power system would fail. a rapid document search was initiated to see if the other condensate pump could be activated.

952 pm
the permit is found. the wrong permit. the permit stating that the pump is not to be reactived under any circumstances due to the missing safety valve is not recovered. no one present was aware that a vital part of the machine had been removed. from the documents in hand, the manager made the assumption the pump was safe to restart. obscured by machinery and dozens of feet off ground level, no one visually noticed the disc sitting on top of the pipeline, instead of a safety valve. check mate.

955 pm
the condensate pump is turned on. the loosely fitted metal disc is immediately blown off the pipe, audibly spilling gas. several men are drawn to the noise to investigate as six gas alarms suddenly blare to life. before anyone can act, the gas ignites. a firewall meant to withstand heat and flames is blasted open by the force of the explosion. a hand slams down on the emergency stop button, closing the large valves in the sea lines and ceasing the oil and gas production. a sigh of relief. the platform should now be isolated from the flow or oil and gas, and the fire should be easy to maintain. however, due to the switch from an oil platform to a gas platform years prior, the firewalls were designed to withstand heat not explosion. the initial explosion tears through the firewall and ruptures a smaller condensate pipe. another fire begins.

1004 pm
with fires raging in the belly of the structure, the control room is abandoned. no attempt was made to use the loudspeakers to order an evacuation. complete disintergration of the platforms chain of command. emergency procedures instructed personnel to head toward the lifeboat stations, however fire prevented them from doing so. the huge gathering of men soon congregated to the fireproofed accommodation block beneath a helicopter deck and waited anxiously for further instruction. wind, smoke and fire overwhelmed the helicopter deck and prevented landings as smoke began to penetrate the personnel block.
as panic began to rise among the gathering, two men decided to suit up in protective gear and attempt to reach the machinery below decks. they planned to activate the firefighting systems. they were never seen again.

two sister platforms continued to feed fresh fuel directly into the burning core of the Piper. the managers from these platforms were not granted permission to cease pumping from their superiors. the exorbitant cost of shutting down their pipelines and the number of days needed to restart production convinced the executives that a shut down was not to be allowed.

flash backwards two years earlier, a study of the pipelines straddling the Piper concluded that due to their length and diameter, it would take several hours to reduce their pressure, making fighting a fire fueled by them nearly impossible. inspite of knowing this, the two sister platforms did not switch off their fuel that night.

1020 pm
pressured at 120 atmospheres, one sisters platforms gas line melts. and bursts. there is no saving the Piper now. fifteen to thirty tonnes of gas are released instantaneously and immediately ignites. enough gas is hemorrhaging out to equal the entire domestic consumption of gas by the UK. a fireball 500 feet in diameter completely consumes the Piper. the quaking and raging structure can be seen from miles away.

1030 pm
a firefighting platform attempts a rescue operation. a design flaw in the extendable walkway becomes apparent as the walkway extends too slowly to reach the platform by the time the second gas line ruptures. just thirty meters separated the rescue platform and the Piper. the walkway begins to extend painfully slow.

1050 pm
the second pipeline ruptures. millions more gallons of gas are now poured into the inferno. three hundred foot tall flames spire into the night sky. the steel of the firefighting platform begins to melt, it turns to retreat from the area. one sister platform finally ceases its pumping of oil into the Piper. dozens of personnel are still desperately struggling to survive in the scorched, smoke filled accommodation block. some jump from the decks 200 feet into the rough ocean below.

1120 pm
the pipeline connecting the Piper to one of its sister platforms bursts. the last people to die, perish here.

1150 pm
the bulk of the Piper platform, including the accommodation block collapses into the ocean. in another hour, the entirety of the platform will have disappeared beneath the waves. by the time the tip of the platform slips into the water, one hundred and sixty seven people are dead. the blazing remains of the platform were fought back inspite of 70 foot tall waves and 80 mph winds.

a memorial sculpture resides in aberdeen representing the 167 men who perished in the disaster. the total insured loss equaled 3.4 billion dollars. in one night. in only four hours.

3.4 billion dollars.

the Occidental Petroleum website lists no mention or reference to the disaster on its company history page.