Two of the biggest threats to oil rig workers are fires and gas explosions. Fires and gas explosions have occurred for a number of different reasons, including equipment malfunction, poor or incomplete maintenance, lack of employee training, negligence by the employer, and blowouts.
Stats and Facts About Past Explosions
In more recent years, the state-owned Mexican oil company, Pemex, has had ongoing accidents, fires, and explosions.
- April 2016 – Explosion at Pemex’s Pajaritos petrochemical complex with 136 injuries and at least 13 deaths.1
- April 2015 – Pemex’s Abkatun Permanente platform exploded and caught on fire. There were 16 people injured, 4 deaths, and 3 people who went missing after workers jumped into the ocean and are presumed dead.2
- April 2015 – Two weeks after the explosion, Pemex was responsible for an oil spill from its pipeline after oil thieves damaged the pipeline. This accident resulted in oil flowing into three rivers near Villahermosa.2
- May 2015 – A Pemex oil rig in the Bay of Campeche collapsed into the ocean, resulting in 2 deaths and at least 10 injuries.2
- 2013 – 37 people died in an explosion at Pemex’s Mexico City headquarters.1
- 2012 – 26 people died in a fire at one of Pemex’s natural gas facilities.1
Part of the problem with Pemex is, because they are a state-owned operation, there has been very little accountability by the Mexican government. In all of the accidents, it appears that improper maintenance, upkeep, and other substandard practices were contributing factors.
Here in the United States, one of our nation’s worst oil rig disasters was the Deepwater Horizon incident that occurred in April 2010. The explosion of the oil platform occurred when a blowout preventer device failed to automatically seal the well. Eleven people lost their lives from the explosion. The oil leak was the biggest oil spill in the United States on record.3
Upon review of the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, it was determined the accident could have been prevented. Had BP enforced a more functional safety culture, then, in all likelihood, the explosion could have been avoided.
The worst oil rig disaster in history is still the Piper Alpha disaster, which occurred in the North Sea in the United Kingdom in July 1988. During the explosion and resulting fire, of the 226 workers stationed on the rig, 167 died.4
The cause of the disaster was due to maintenance not being completed on a condensate-injection pump. The day crew failed to inform the evening crew the work was still not done. Due to this communication error, the pump was turned on, resulting in a major gas leak that caused numerous explosions on the oil rig.
Most of the oil rig explosions and fires over the past three decades were preventable with improved safety measures, better maintenance practices, and effective communications between employees.
If you or a loved one has been injured or were killed in an oil rig fire or explosion, please feel free to contact Maintenance and Cure at 1-800-836-5830 today. Our maritime accident attorneys have helped clients and families settle cases, including one of the largest, if not the largest, settlements under the Jones Act, for close to $18 million.
Sources
- http://www.newsweek.com/pemex-explosion-13-dead-petrochemical-veracruz-investigation-chlorinate-3-451024
- https://www.desmogblog.com/2015/05/26/pemex-deadly-offshore-explosions-and-major-pipeline-spills
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/20/deepwater-horizon-key-questions-answered
- http://www.offshore-technology.com/features/feature-the-worlds-deadliest-offshore-oil-rig-disasters-4149812/
