North Sea gas leaks linked to flaw that caused Piper Alpha disaster flaw
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A GAS storage platform in the North Sea, with 70 workers on board, has been close to disaster twice this year after two serious gas leaks.
The Health and Safety Executive has ordered BG (formerly British Gas) to carry out urgent improvements to safety procedures.
An internal BG report, obtained by The Independent, highlights the seriousness of the first leak in the Rough gas field, which lies some 20 miles of Hull, last February and points to management and operational mistakes.
BG's report, by its safety and environment directorate, says: "There were no injuries but the high potential for major loss made it necessary to instigate a thorough independent investigation."
Unions claim the incidents, on 13 February and 20 May, bear an uncanny resemblance to the gas leak on the Piper Alpha production platform in the North Sea, almost exactly 10 years ago, which killed 167 oil workers.
Roger Spiller, head of MSF's North Sea section, said: "Our members are concerned that BG appears to have done nothing to sort out the problems."
The starting problem in both leaks appears to have been failure of a flange during maintenance work. Lord Cullen's inquiry into Piper Alpha found that that disaster was also caused by a flange failure.
BG confirmed it had hit trouble on Rough, which is used for the storage of gas to meet peak winter demands. A formal statement, released yesterday about the 13 February incident, says: "This occurred during maintenance and the leak was quickly controlled."
Of the 20 May incident, a statement said: "The platform immediately shut down. There were no injuries or damage."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments