Nigeria - Seven Dead In Blast At Oil Platform Seven workers at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have been killed in a fire explosion at Oil mining lease 40 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of NNPC. The explosion occurred on Tuesday at the petroleum company’s Benin River Valve Station. The Group General Manager,…

On this Day in 1988: Offshore Industry's Deadliest Disaster Thirty-two years ago, on July 6, 1988, one of the offshore oil and gas industry's worst-ever disasters struck  - the explosion of the Piper Alpha platform in the UK North Sea. To this day, the disaster is the worst ever in the industry by the numbers of lives-lost; 167 people died.…

A large explosion rocked the Astron Energy refinery at about 4am on Thursday morning [July 2], leaving two people dead and six others injured. The plant is located in Milnerton and damage is reportedly visible on one of the units closest to the Plattekloof side. Witnesses told local media that a large explosion rattled windows and doors of nearby houses…

Military called in to fire artillery rounds at wellhead in Siberia that has been ablaze for nearly a week   A Russian oil company has asked the military to bombard a wellhead fire with anti-tank artillery rounds in a last-ditch effort to extinguish the blaze after nearly a week. Russian troops will deploy to rural Siberia and fire shells from…

Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has extinguished a fire at its 239,000-b/d Duque de Caxias (REDUC) refinery in the Baixada Fluminense area of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. On the afternoon of June 15, the REDUC refinery’s brigade quickly controlled and extinguished a fire that broke out in one of the refinery’s distillation units, Petrobras said. The fire, which was caused by…

10 workers have now died following an explosion on 3 June, at a chemicals factory in India, reports news agency The Indian Express. Reportedly, more than 70 others were injured. The blast occurred at a facility owned by specialty chemicals and intermediates company Yashashvi Rasayan, in an industrial area located in Dahej, in the Bharuch district of Gujarat, India. New Delhi Television (NDTV) reports that…

Norilsk Nickel says it has suspended a number of employees responsible for dumping waste water More than 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked from a fuel storage tank at one of the company’s subsidiary plants near Norilsk A Russian mining giant behind an enormous Arctic fuel spill last month said Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were…

The video and safety alert highlight recent actions by the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) to produce industry guidance meant to help hazardous chemical facilities better prepare for extreme weather events. CSB Chairman Katherine Lemos said, "As the nation faces this year's hurricane season, it is critical that the chemical industry understand and prepare for the potential safety hazards posed by extreme…