Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Piper Alpha

The Piper Alpha disaster and how it changed the oil and gas industry

It was the night between 6 and 7 July 1988 when Piper Alpha – a North Sea oil platform just 120 miles from Aberdeen – exploded, resulting in the death of 167 men.

Today, the Piper Alpha disaster serves as a reminder that health and safety should always be paramount in the oil and gas industry.

The Piper Alpha Disaster

Piper Alpha Memorial Garden

North Sea

Piper Alpha memorial statue granted listed status

All Piper Alpha Posts

North Sea

Remembering Ocean Odyssey

The blowout on the Ocean Odyssey exploration rig in 1988 is often overshadowed by Piper Alpha but is a significant event in oil & gas history.Derek Beddows, Archer Knight’s Director of Diving and Safety Services, recalls his time as part of the response, and the pioneering work which went into capping the well, 32 years ago this week.

North Sea

Jim House: Remembering Piper Alpha

Piper Alpha was a disaster – in every sense of the word – and it claimed the lives of 167 fathers, sons, husbands and friends. This single catastrophic event significantly changed our industry forever.

Promoted

International SOS: Trauma can affect us all

During this time of reflection, 32 years on from the Piper Alpha disaster, we must not forget the survivors, family and friends of those who lost their lives.

Opinion

HSE’s guiding role amid Covid crisis

Two years ago, on the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster we wrote about the challenges facing the North Sea: the large, experienced operators replaced with new entrants to the world of exploration, production and operatorship, the tight budgets and contractor margins.

North Sea

Step Change In Safety: Major accidents must be remembered

Managing the risks of Covid-19 has been at the forefront of our minds in recent months. However, we must be careful not to be distracted from the ever-present potential of major accident hazards (MAHs).

Loaded section Skip section