Editing Piper Alpha (section)

{{short description|Oil platform destroyed by explosion and fire in 1988}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox event
| title = Piper Alpha disaster
| image = Piper_Alpha_oil_rig_fire.jpg
| caption = Piper Alpha on fire shortly after the failure of the Tartan gas riser
| time = Approximately 22:00
| timezone = [[British Summer Time|BST]]) (first explosion
| date = 6 and 7 July 1988
| location = Piper Alpha platform, [[Piper oilfield]], [[North Sea]] (UK sector)
| coordinates = {{coord|58|28|01|N|00|15|36|E|region:Europe_type:event|display=inline,title}}{{sfnp|The Hon Lord Cullen|1990|p=|loc=vol. 1, p. 166}}
| map = {{Location map many
| North Sea
| width       = 
|float      = center 
|border     = none
|caption    =  Piper Alpha's location in the [[North Sea]], around {{convert|120|mi|km|abbr=off}} north-east of [[Aberdeen]], Scotland
| alt         = 
| relief      = 1
| AlternativeMap = 
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| label1      =  Piper Alpha
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| position1   =  <!-- or: position, pos1, pos -->
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| link1       =  <!-- or: link -->
| coordinates1=  {{coord|58|28|01|N|00|15|36|E}}
<!--second label/marker-->
| label2      = Aberdeen
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| coordinates2= {{coord|57|9|0|N|2|6|36|W}}
}}
| type = Explosion and fire
| cause = – Startup of a condensate pump that had not been mechanically isolated due to ongoing maintenance<br>– Lack of protection by design of gas risers
| filmed by = [[Scottish Television]]
| outcome = 
| casualties1 = 
| casualties2 = 
| casualties3 = 
| reported deaths = 167
| reported injuries = 
| reported property damage = £1.7 billion (£{{Inflation|UK|1.7|1988}} billion in {{Inflation/year|UK}})
| inquiries = Piper Alpha Public Inquiry (Cullen Inquiry)
| awards = Seven [[George Medal]], eight [[King's Gallantry Medal|Queen's Gallantry Medal]], and five [[Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct]] recipients<ref name=":15" />
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}}
'''Piper Alpha''' was an [[oil platform]] located in the [[North Sea]] about {{convert|120|mi|km}} north-east of [[Aberdeen]], Scotland. It was operated by [[Occidental Petroleum|Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited]] (OPCAL) and began production in December 1976,<ref name=":18" /> initially as an oil-only platform, but later converted to add gas production.

Piper Alpha exploded and collapsed under the effect of sustained gas [[jet fire]]s in the night between 6 and 7 July 1988, killing 165 of the men on board (30 of whose bodies were never recovered), as well as a further two rescuers.<ref name="nightseacaughtfire">{{cite news |author=Ross |first=Peter |date=15 June 2008 |title=The Night the Sea Caught Fire: Remembering Piper Alpha |work=[[Scotland on Sunday]] |url=http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/The-night-the-sea-caught.4184800.jp |url-status=dead |access-date=3 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822172907/http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/The-night-the-sea-caught.4184800.jp |archive-date=22 August 2010}}</ref> Sixty-one workers escaped and survived. The total insured loss was about £1.7 billion (£{{Inflation|UK|1.7|1988}} billion in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), making it one of the [[List of disasters by cost|costliest man-made catastrophes]] ever.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Marsh JLT Specialty |title=100 Largest Losses in the Hydrocarbon Industry: 1974–2019 |publisher=[[Marsh (company)|Marsh]] |year=2020 |edition=26th |location=New York, N.Y. |author-link=Marsh (company)}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Frantzich |first1=Håkan |title=Risks in Technological Systems |last2=Holmstedt |first2=Göran |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer-Verlag]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84882-640-3 |editor-last=Grimvall |editor-first=Göran |location=London, England |pages=229 |chapter=Fire and Explosion |editor-last2=Holmgren |editor-first2=Åke J. |editor-last3=Jacobsson |editor-first3=Per |editor-last4=Thedéen |editor-first4=Torbjörn}}</ref> At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for roughly 10% of [[North Sea oil|North Sea oil and gas]] production<ref name=":18" /> and was the world’s single largest oil producer.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The 1988 Piper Alpha Explosion |url=https://www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds/history/catastophes-and-claims/piper-alpha |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628041644/https://www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds/history/catastophes-and-claims/piper-alpha |archive-date=28 June 2023 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=[[Lloyd's of London|Lloyd's]]}}</ref> The accident is the worst ever offshore oil and gas disaster in terms of lives lost, and comparable only to the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|''Deepwater Horizon'' disaster]] in terms of industry impact.<ref name=":24">{{cite news |author=Duff |first=Steven |date=6 June 2008 |title=Remembering Piper Alpha Disaster |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7438774.stm |url-status=live |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204232924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7438774.stm |archive-date=4 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=":9" />{{sfnp |Sutton|2014| p= 78|}} The inquiry blamed it on inadequate maintenance and safety procedures by Occidental, though no charges were brought.{{sfnp|The Hon Lord Cullen|1990||loc=vol. 1}}{{sfnp|The Hon Lord Cullen|1990||loc=vol. 2}} A separate civil suit resulted in a finding of negligence against two workers who were killed in the accident.{{sfnp|Lord Caplan|1997}}

A memorial sculpture is located in the Rose Garden of [[Hazlehead Park]] in Aberdeen.<ref name=":6" />