President Donald Trump’s weekend of oil diplomacy offered mixed messages on supply, and conflicting responses from analysts who predicted a short-term price drop but said a rebound was due in the long run.
An Aberdeenshire engineering firm has developed a product which could diffuse “ticking time bombs” on oil platforms and save UK operators more than £300 million.
The first government official on the scene after Piper Alpha exploded still remembers the smell of the burning paint that greeted him when he landed on the nearest support vessel.
The earliest memory Marc Reid has of his father was that his hands looked different to other people’s – badly scarred during his escape from the blazing platform.
If the world’s biggest crude exporter says it’s going to ramp up production, prices usually drop. But as Saudi Arabia adds barrels before its customers get burned, prices have jumped. And Donald Trump isn’t happy.
A flotilla of vessels quickly converged on the scene as everyone joined forces to try to save as many lives as possible. The captain of a tiny fishing boat was among those who joined the rescue effort.
French oil giant Total will step up security at its north-east facilities amid protest concerns after a week of high-profile disputes with staff over pay and hours, which resulted in a vote in favour of strike action.
When world-famous US firefighter Red Adair flew in from Houston to orchestrate the operation to “kill” the Piper Alpha wells, the mission appeared immense. Some even thought it impossible.
By James Bream, general manager Katoni Engineering
When I was approached to write a piece in this edition of Energy Voice, I have to admit, I was initially unsure. As some of you will know we are a new company looking to challenge the ways that things are done. We are independent, creative and bold and many of our growing young team were born in the late 80s and early 90s. Therefore, writing about how we do things in the context of the past was a tough call.
In the three decades that have passed since Piper Alpha this industry has changed exponentially: the disaster driving an unprecedented pace and quality of change in operational safety for offshore oil and gas.
Thirty years on as we remember the Piper Alpha disaster and the 167 lives that were lost, it is a poignant time to recognise the positive safety changes in the years since and how these principles need to be passed from one generation to the next.