The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said a gas leak on a North Sea platform on Boxing Day last year had exposed workers to an “unacceptable risk of serious personal injury from fire and explosion”.
It was also found in the notice that there had been a failure to remove insulation of pipework for inspection purpose “since its commissioning in 1983”.
The safety notice has been issued following the incident on the Brae Alpha platform.
The notice comes after it was revealed earlier this year the leak had been categorised as “major” in findings by Oil & Gas UK.
Figures obtained had shown there was a 2148KG gas release from the Brae Alpha, which is 155miles from Aberdeen.
The HSE said:”Failure to maintain the 8” HP discharge pipework (8”-P-02142) located above the Local Control Room in Module 14 in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair and as a result on 26 December 2015, said pipework failed catastrophically leading to an uncontrolled release of high pressure hydrocarbon gas, causing significant damage to the surrounding area.
“In particular, (a) you had failed to remove the insulation of said pipework for inspection purposes since its commissioning in 1983, despite your own corrosion under insulation strategy issued in 2014 (document no 000-MIP-95-MN-ST-00001-000) recommends the removal of said insulation at least every 12 years for inspection purposes; (b) had failed to act on your findings from 2010 for this line, which instructs sample insulation removal of the said pipework for inspection; and (c) failed to carry out the planned 2015 inspection of said pipework.
“These failures exposed personnel on the Brae Alpha installation to an unacceptable risk of serious personal injury from fire and explosion”.
The platform normally produces around 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Earlier this year, Marathon Oil said its production available for sale averaged around 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the fourth quarter of last year compared to 20,000 the year before.
Around 7,000boe is normally netted by Marathon Oil from the installation.
The US oil and gas company is currently the operator of the Brae Alpha platform.
The Brae Alpha platform is among the North Sea’s oldest platforms at 32 years old.
The incident also comes after the safety watchdog hit Marathon with an improvement notice following a leak on the platform in June.
Meanwhile, in November last year, the HSE said the incident had “put the health and safety of individuals on the platform at risk.”
Production from the platform is expected to resume in the second quarter of this year.
A Marathon spokesperson, said: “Marathon Oil is cooperating fully with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and is taking immediate steps to comply with the Improvement Notice issued on 14 January.
“Many of the prescribed remedial actions are already well under way. The safety and welfare of our workforce continues to be our first priority.
“Production remains shut-in on the Brae Alpha installation while we continue our investigation and will remain so until we are confident it is safe to resume operations.
“Brae Bravo and East Brae operations continue as normal.”
Recommended for you
