Accident: An offshore oil platform in Azerbaijan’s section of the Caspian Sea

4 Dec 2015

A major fire has broken out on an offshore oil platform in Azerbaijan’s section of the Caspian Sea. The company says one person died and 32 were evacuated - while 30 more are missing.


The fire started overnight at a rig at the Gunashli field southeast of Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks) settlement. It was caused by strong winds that damaged a gas pipeline on the platform, the Azeri state energy company SOCAR said.

"The fire in the gas pipeline has not been completely extinguished and it has not been ruled out that it could spread to oil and gas wells near the platform," it stated.

The rescue operation was hampered by stormy weather with waves rising up to 11 meters high, Trend news website reported.

Initial statements did not mention those missing. The order signed by President Ilham Aliyev to launch a probe into the fire only said 1 person was killed and 32 were saved.

At the same time, the independent Oil Workers' Rights Protection Committee told Reuters that over 30 platform workers were killed in the blaze.

"According to our information, 32 workers died, while 42 workers were rescued last night," said Mirvari Gakhramanly. He later told the AP those were not dead, but missing.

SOCAR eventually confirmed people were missing, but put the number at 30.

"One body was found and a search-and-rescue operation for 30 missing workers is under way," the oil company said in a statement.

Local reports suggest one of the rescue boats was overturned in rough sea.

The search and rescue mission continues.

It is still not clear how many people worked on the rig. The Azeri news agency ARA says 63 people were there, which doesn’t match the numbers provided by the independent committee.

In a separate incident in the area, the storm waves hit a small house near e Caspian shore with three people inside who remain missing, according to the news website Day.Az.

https://www.rt.com/news/324844-azeri-oil-platform-fire/

US labels DuPont as ‘severe’ safety violator after chemical plant accidents

Four workers died in November 2014 after being poisoned by exposure to methyl mercaptan,
which is used to make insecticide at DuPont’s La Porte, Texas, plant.
PHOTO: MARIE D. DE JESUS/HOUSTON CHRONICLE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

OSHA placed DuPont in its severe violator program, which devotes additional resources to inspect companies with a “demonstrated indifference toward creating a safe and healthy workplace.”


DuPont Co. was placed in a US Department of Labor program for “severe” violators of workplace safety rules and was fined for more alleged infringements after the deaths of four workers last year at a Texas herbicide factory.

The proposed fines of $273,000 are for eight violations -- three “willful,” one “repeat” and four “serious” -- found at DuPont’s plant in La Porte, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said in a statement Thursday. The fines are in addition to $99,000 levied in May for nine violations related to the November deaths, OSHA said.

OSHA placed DuPont in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which devotes additional resources to inspect companies with a “demonstrated indifference toward creating a safe and healthy workplace.” CEO Ellen Kullman early in her career led the creation of a safety consulting business at the company.

“DuPont promotes itself as having a ‘world-class safety’ culture and even markets its safety expertise to other employers, but these four preventable workplace deaths and the very serious hazards we uncovered at this facility are evidence of a failed safety program,” Assistant Secretary of Labor David Michaels said in the statement.

A worker at the plant was overcome when a supply line released more than 20,000 lb of methyl mercaptan, a deadly chemical. Three more were asphyxiated by the colorless gas when they came to his aid in a failed rescue attempt. The latest fines stem from expanded inspections at the plant, OSHA said.

Plant Shutdown

DuPont is “disappointed” with its inclusion in the Severe Violator program as the company has worked to continuously improve its safety procedures since they were first implemented more than 200 years ago, said Dan Turner, a DuPont spokesman.

DuPont has shut the herbicide unit to fix any problems and will work with OSHA to better understand the latest citations and any additional abatement needed, he said.

“We believe we have identified and are addressing most if not all of OSHA’s significant findings,” Turner said in a e- mailed statement. “We have and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure all units are safe to operate.”

Source:  http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3469975/Latest-News/US-labels-DuPont-as-severe-safety-violator-after-chemical-plant-accidents.html

Magazine: Offshore Engineer & Chemical Engineering (June 2015)

Offshore Engineer

IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE:

FEATURE: Offshore Renewables - A milestone is about to be reached in the tidal energy industry off the cold harsh coast of Scotland. Elaine Maslin spoke with the project director behind the MeyGen tidal array development. Tidal and wave energy projects are getting grid-wet this year, yet there's still more to learn. Emma Gordon reports from All Energy. Douglas Westwood's Rachel Stonehouse discusses the offshore wind market, where approximately US$330 billion could be spent in capex over the next 10 years, with cumulative capacity surpassing 57GW. 

Free Download: http://5xpan.com/fs/cboo6nle0e7795a978/

Chemical Engineering

VER STORY

Materials Selection in the CPI An overview of the many factors to be considered when selecting materials of construction

Free Download: http://5xpan.com/fs/fbooenlede77e3fad2/

Unconventional Oil & Gas Report
IHS: Eagle Ford companies schedule wedge production

Free Download: http://5xpan.com/fs/5booanle8e7733ad82/

Accident: Pemex Abkatun Alpha platform fire, 4 killed

Photo courtesy of Carlos Hernández's Twitter (@carlitosahm)

Photo courtesy of Palparratas’ Twitter (@palparratas)

Photo courtesy of Grupo Presente’s Twitter (@DiarioPresente)

2015-04-01

At least four people died after a fire broke out on a Pemex oil processing platform in the Gulf of Mexico early on Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of 302 workers, the Mexican state-run oil company said.

The fire, which burned throughout the day, erupted overnight on the Abkatun Permanente platform in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche. Forty-five people were treated for injuries and 16 of them were hospitalized, two with serious injuries, Pemex said.

At 8pm (02:00 GMT) on Wednesday, Pemex said in a message on its Twitter account that the fire had been put out.

Eight firefighting boats had been brought in to battle the flames, Pemex said, noting that one of the fatalities was from the state-run giant and another was a contractor for Mexican oil services firm Cotemar. Two others have yet to be identified.

Videos posted on Twitter showed the offshore platform engulfed in flames, lighting up the night sky, as rescue workers looked on from nearby ships.

The fire broke out in the dehydration and pumping area of the platform, and it was not yet clear what caused it, Pemex said. There was no oil spill, it said.

Pemex Chief Executive Emilio Lozoya estimated the impact on production would be small because other processing sites nearby would pick up the slack, a company spokesman said.

Lozoya said at a local news conference in Ciudad del Carmen that the cause of the fire outbreak was still unknown, although he expected it was something related to mechanics.

President Enrique Pena Nieto promised a thorough investigation to find whoever or whatever was responsible to ensure such accidents are avoided in the future.

Part of the Abkatun Pol Chuc offshore complex, the damaged platform separates crude oil and gas from various wells to process around 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), work which has now been suspended, the Pemex spokesman said. Earlier in the day, the spokesman had said the platform produced oil.

In total, the Abkatun Pol Chuc complex produces around 300,000 bpd. Output at the rest of the site was not affected.

Mexico is the world's No. 10 crude producer at just under 2.3 million bpd, down about a third from a peak of 3.4 million bpd in 2004.

Pemex has had a number of accidents in recent years and the latest one comes as Mexico seeks to lure private investors to revive its flagging oil industry.

In 2013, at least 37 people were killed by a blast at Pemex's Mexico City headquarters, and another 26 people died in a fire at a Pemex natural gas facility in northern Mexico in September 2012.

Last year, Mexico finalized a reform to end Pemex's 75-year-old oil and gas monopoly, but expectations of a boom in private investment have been tempered by the plunge in global crude prices.

Cotemar is based in Ciudad del Carmen and provides offshore services to Pemex, according to its website.

Source: http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/fire-engulfs-pemex-oil-platform-300-evacuated

Accident: Petrobras FPSO Cidade de São Mateus Explosion

Petrobras offshore rig explosion kills three

An explosion on an offshore oil and gas platform operated by Brazil's Petrobras has killed at least three workers.

State-run Petrobras said 74 workers were on board the rig at the time and six of them remain missing.

Brazil's oil industry regulator, ANP, says that a fire caused by the blast has been contained and the platform has been stabilised.

ANP also said that no oil leaked from the rig which was located off the coast of Espirito Santo state.

Health officials said that ten workers have been injured.

An official from the union representing workers on the platform said that a gas leak had caused the explosion.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31430467

Magazine: Chemical Engineering February 2015

Magazine: Chemical Engineering February 2015

Download Chemical Engineering, Feb 2015

Magazine : Offshore Engineer

Magazine: Offshore Engineer (Feb 2015)

Download: Feb 2015

Shale Resources and Water Risks

How It Works

Hydraulic fracturing -- or hydro fracking, or just plain fracking -- is one way that we can get at "hidden" reserves of natural gas, petroleum -- even water. It sounds extremely complicated (and is, in fact, a pretty cool feat of science and engineering), but fracking is a fairly simple process. Way far underground (we're talking some 7,000 feet/2,133 meters below the surface), rocks like shale can hold gases, water or oil in their pores. Hydraulic fracking moves that resource from the pores of the rocks to production wells

Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risks

Experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI), Apache Corporation, and Natural Resources Defense Council will host a press call to discuss key findings from a new report, Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risks, the first-ever public analysis of water availability across all potential commercial shale resources worldwide. The press call will take place on Tuesday, September 2, 2014.

• 38 percent of shale resources are in areas that are either arid or under high to extremely high levels of water stress;
• 19 percent are in areas of high or extremely high seasonal variability; and
• 15 percent are in locations exposed to high or extremely high drought severity.

Eight of the top 20 countries with the largest shale gas resources face arid conditions or high to extremely high baseline water stress where the shale resources are located; this includes China, Algeria, Mexico, South Africa, Libya, Pakistan, Egypt, and India.

Eight of the top 20 countries with the largest tight oil resources face arid conditions or high to extremely high baseline water stress where the shale resources are located; this includes China, Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt, India, and Mongolia.

Shale basin and water stress in USA

Today shale development is rapid in USA, however there is medium to high risk to water resources.

Shale basin and water stress in Russia

Let go to Russia, shale basin found in less water risk zone. It means potentially to developing shale extraction.

Shale basin and water stress in China

China has largest shale resources in the world, and energy demand is high and growing 60% annual. Although China is rated as High risk, when zoom in to the country, some shale basin found in less water risk zone, like Sichuan （四川）, Hubei （湖北）.

Shale basin and water stress in SEA

How about South East Asia (SEA), some shale basins are found in Thailand and Indonesia, and they are in low risk zone.

An Inconvenient Truth: Fracking Shale

Fracking is required mix water with chemical to improve the performance well. The chemical content VOC (volatile organic compound), heavy metal, radioactive substance, etc. How to 100% ensure it wont leak and contamination to ecosystem?

Summary & Opinion

Shale extraction is the trend of Oil and Gas industry. The development of any shale field has considered technology, economic, and environmental risk.

As per data, USA is not suitable to develop shale field due to water resource risk. In money dominated era, everything is driven by money, other things (environment) can be put it aside.

Shale oil changes the world energy landscape, even leading the oil price down recently. It seem beneficial to US as oil importer. The shale oil and gas are booming and change the world, but what price to the people?

As a politician, authority, organisation, engineer, or people, everyone must has responsibility to the people, community, country, world, animals and plants. We have duty to preserve resource for next generation.

Oil price Jan - Dec 2014

References:

1. How Hydraulic Fracking Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/hydraulic-fracking.htm
2. Animation of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY34PQUiwOQ
3. An Inconvenient Truth: Fracking Shale, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uokmsSi7LTY
4. World Resources Institute, http://www.wri.org/