Oil platform safety is still an issue 20 years after Piper Alpha

On the 20th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, oil workers argue that safety is still being compromised offshore.

Some 167 workers were killed on 6 July 1988 when the North Sea oil platform was engulfed in flames.

Twenty years on, the government has asked the Health and Safety Executive to review the industry’s progress tackling the problems raised by the KP3 offshore safety report.

MPs have argued that some routine maintenance programmes and shutdowns are being delayed or postponed in order to maximise production with oil prices being so high. Graham Tran, organiser with the Unite general union said this practice was “the norm in the oil and gas industry”.