3. Piper Alpha

3.1 Chronology of events

Together with three other platforms, Piper Alpha operates a 36-well reservoir in the North Sea, 180 km east of Flotta in Scotland. These platforms are linked by a network of pipes to ensure optimum management of the reservoir. Like all platforms, Piper Alpha is made up of various specialized modules for drilling, production, oil and gas separation and injection into the pipes. Piper Alpha began producing oil in December 1976.

Oil, gas and water are extracted from the reservoir and then treated using two different processes to separate their components.

Mode 2 (figure 4 ), used during normal operation...