Accident NEWS

According to the sources, the vessel Israfil Huseynov operated by Saipem in the Caspian Sea met with an accident on Wednesday. An explosion occurred on the vessel which was being used for pipelaying for the framework of the Shah Deniz II project. The count of casualties is 14. The accident was due to the maintenance operations on an item of equipment during pipe-laying activities.

35-year old semi-submersible drilling platform, Olinda Star was the only rig to be hit by Cyclone Phethai among the six rigs working in the Kakinada, India. After this accident, the rig-hiring rules of India’s ONGC are being questioned which were amended in 2014. In order to gain benefit from global rig oversupply, the altered rules focused more on the commercial aspects than on safety.

Metro construction workers, on Monday, damaged GAIL’s underground gas pipeline while drilling a road in Bengaluru. GAIL’s fire safety team attended to the damaged pipeline, as the fire brigade rushed to the spot. Bengaluru Metro Corp. and its contractor have been booked under various sections of PNGRB and IPC. BMRCL cited lack of knowledge about the pipeline presence in the area as the reason of not asking permission from GAIL.

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) refinery at Mahul, India witnessed an explosion yesterday when a hydrocracker unit caught fire, leading to 40 injured workers. The official statement from BPCL assured safe shutdown of the unit. Fire-fighting teams are keenly monitoring the refinery. BPCL will, additionally, set up an investigative team for the matter. The hazard was categorised as a level III (major) blaze.

In a press conference yesterday, the US Chemical Safety Board portrayed faulty valve in the FCCU as the cause of the blast in Husky Energy refinery in Wisconsin. The board explained that the Iron Sulfide in the carbon steel of the fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) was possibly ignited by the air leaking in the unit. The explosion led to a discharge of flaming asphalt across the refinery.

An Indian Parliamentary panel has reported a drop in number of accident in the facilities of the government oil firms, but the number of such cases in ONGC, HPCL and other state run explorers continues to be high. 149 accidents were recorded by HPCL while GAIL recorded the least number of accidents. The committee has recommended an increase in the safety and security of the facilities.

According to the Alliance for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen, SNS Company’s two giant oil tankers were attacked by Houthi militia in the Red Sea on Wednesday. The shipments had two million barrels of crude oil each. All shipments of crude oil passing through the Straits of Mandab have been suspended by Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, with immediate effect until the navigation becomes safe.

Saudi Arabia’s suspension of crude shipments through Red Sea shipping lane and EIA’s data showing fall in US inventories, today, sent oil prices higher. Brent crude futures rose by 0.6%, priced at $74.40 a barrel. WTI crude futures were up by 1%, traded at $69.35 a barrel. Houthi rebels had attacked two Saudi VLCCs traveling through the Red Sea yesterday, post which Saudi halt all shipments through that channel.

The BNSF Railway Co has stated that almost half of the crude oil spilled near Rock River in northwest Iowa has been contained. A freight train derailment took place last Friday, leading to approximately 230,000 gallons of oil spillage. Skimmers and vacuum trucks are being used to clean up the spill, and about 100,000 gallons have been hemmed off using booms. BNSF assured of zero casualties in the accident.