A CATALOGUE OF DISASTERS by VICTOR R GIBSON
ISBN NO 978-0-9557002-4-8
This is a book about accidents and incidents in the offshore oil industry, principally mobile units and the vessel supporting them. There are descriptions of 29 accidents, divided by the types usually considered by risk assessors. the accidents considered involve the following vessels and units (this for the benefit of the search engines): East Shore, Ocean ranger, Glomar Java Sea, Piper Alpha, P36, Mr K, Juile Ann, Ocean Express, Key Biscayne, Rowan Gorilla 1, West Gamma, Sedco Helen, Stevns Power, Bourbon Dolphin, Ranger 1, Alexander L kielland, Trinity II, Hector Gannet, Highland Pioneer, Samudra Suraksha, Big Orange XVIII, Maersk Detector, Kulluk, C.P.Baker, West Vanguard, Ocean Odyssey, Ocean King, West Atlas, Deepwater Horizon
The table of contents is as follows:
0 - INTRODUCTION.
1 - OFFSHORE OIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION 9
2 – WHAT HAPPENS ON THE RIG
3 - SINKINGS IN ADVERSE WEATHER
The East Shore in the Mediterranean -January 1974.
The Ocean Ranger Offshore Canada - February 1982
The Glomar Java Sea in the South China Sea - October 1983
4 - PROCESS FAILURES
The Piper Alpha Explosion and Fire in the North Sea - July 1988
The Petrobras P36 Process Accident in Brazil - March 2001.
5 - SINKINGS UNDER TOW
The Mr K in the Gulf of Mexico - April 1957
The Julie Ann in the Gulf of Mexico - March 1968
The Ocean Express in the Gulf of Mexico - April 1975
The Key Biscayne off Western Australia - August 1983
The Rowan Gorilla I in the North Atlantic - December 1988
The West Gamma sinking offshore Germany - August 1990
6 - SINKINGS DURING ANCHOR-HANDLING
The Sedco Helen at the Sedco 135G in Australia - January 1970
The Stevns Power at Castoro Otto in Nigeria - October 2003.
The Bourbon Dolphin at the Transocean Rather - April 2007.
7 - STRUCTURAL FAILURE
The Ranger 1 in the Gulf of Mexico - May 1979.
The Alexander L Kielland in the North Sea - March 1980.
The Trinity II in the Gulf of Campeche September 2011
8 - WORKBOAT COLLISIONS
The Hector Gannet at Hewett A - November 1968
The Highland Pioneer at the Douglas Platform - January 2000.
The Samudra Suraksha at Mumbai High North – July 2005
The Big Orange XVIII at Ekofisk – June 2009
The Maersk Detector with GSF Grand Banks – November 2011
9 - LOSS OF TOW
The Kulluk Loss of Tow and Grounding in Alaska – December 2012.
10 - BLOWOUTS
The C.P.Baker in the Gulf of Mexico – June 1964.
The West Vanguard at the Haltenbanken – October 1985.
The Ocean Odyssey in UK North Sea – September 1988.
The Ocean King in the Gulf of Mexico - August 2002.
The West Atlas at Montana Offshore Australia – August 2009.
The Deepwater Horizon at Macondo – April 2010
CONCLUSIONS
APPENDIX 1 - GLOSSARY OF TERMS
APPENDIX 2 - OILFIELD AND MARINE ACRONYMS
APPENDIX 3 - REFERENCES
INDEX
Each of the accidents are presented in the same manner with details of the units involved, the circumstances extant at the time, the sequence of events, a summary of the investigation, or the information available, and the author's comments. All present lessons for the industry which some say are still to be learnt. This book extends to 384 A4 pages and contains about 70 illustrations. It is a paperback to keep the weight down.
Those who have reviewed this volume have been complimentary about it one saying that it is essential reading for everyone in the offshore industry. List Price £65 inc P&P.