Fires – 2004 (66 incidents total)

01-Jan-2004 Chevron/Texaco

Remarks: After performing routine maintenance on the crane, antifreeze was spilled on the crane exhaust which caught fire. The fire was small and was extinguished with one bucket of water. There were no damages or injuries.

6-Jan-2004 Eni Petroleum Exploration Company

Remarks: A small flash fire occurred at the platform. The No. 2 turbine generator exhaust located inside the generator room came into contact with a lubricating oil when leaked onto the turbine exhaust, which resulted into a small flash fire. There were no injuries to personnel or damage to the platform.

7-Jan-2004 Devon SFS Operating, Inc.

Remarks: Mechanic states that he lost power in the building which is supplied by Hanover Generator, not the Platform Generator. He then proceeded outside to see what was wrong and found that the No. 2 generator had sparks and flames coming out of the generator end. He then pushed the fire alarm button, shut in the compressor, and grabbed a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.

12-Jan-2004 BP American Production Company

Remarks: With the platform shut in, a construction crew was torch cutting deck plate on the top deck to replace it with grating. A gas lift header on the deck below, in the vicinity of the fuel gas skid had been isolated and bled down. A flame resistant tarp was placed over the gas lift header, which was also surrounded on 3 sides with 8' high plywood walls. A fire watch was stationed in the area and spraying water on the tarp while the hot work commenced. Sparks/slag was falling on the tarp. The fire watch and another worker noticed a fire under the tarp and proceeded to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher and a water hose. There were no injuries, no harm to the environment and only minor damage to a Barton chart recorder as a result of the fire.

21-Jan-2004 Denbury Offshore Inc.

Remarks: A construction crew was cutting out rusted nuts and bolts on the firewater pump muffler flanges. Some hot molten slag fell on the inlet starting gas line to the starter. A small fire was put out with a 30 lb. extinguisher. After investigating, it was found that a nipple in the inlet starting gas line was leaking.

21-Jan-2004 Denbury Offshore Inc.

Remarks: A Denbury employee was observing construction work and noticed smoke in the rental compressor engine compartment. The starter was still engaged and the wiring was on fire. The employee put out the fire with a 30 lb. extinguisher.

29-Jan-2004 Denbury Offshore Inc.

Remarks: While performing hot work on a vessel, a small fire was started due to some oil floating on top of water used to flood the pan under the vessel. The fire was extinguished by the fire watch using a 30 lb. dry chemical extinguisher.

30-Jan-2004 Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Remarks: A small fire occurred when a tarp that was covering the aluminum insulation barrier on the Heat Media Expansion tank was ignited by slag from a cutting torch. Personnel were cutting scaffolding brackets around the crane. Fire was extinguished by fire watch within 30 sec. The only damage was to the tarp. Alarm sounded and everyone reported to proper areas. The area sprayed with firewater hose to make sure all areas were covered.

16-Feb-2004 Williams Field Services Gulf Coast Co.

Remarks: Williams Pipeline was in the process of relocating a pipeline from the jacket structure to the seafloor, so the jacket can be salvaged. During the operation hot work was being conducted. Apparently welding slag/sparks ignited tarp material and was quickly extinguished by the fire watch. Williams Pipeline reported that there were no injuries or property damage (other than the tarp material).

17-Feb-2004 El Paso Production Oil & Gas Company

Remarks: Workers were in the process of repairing a leak between the temporary quarters and the permanent quarters, which are attached. While trying to repair the leak, hot welding slag fell and started a fire in the lower permanent quarters. The fire alarm sounded, and a fire extinguisher and water hose were used to extinguish the fire. Two rooms of the permanent quarters were damaged. There were thirteen people on board. There were no injuries or pollution.

19-Feb-2004 Chevron Texaco Corp.

Remarks: A small fire occurred at the south end of the Glycol Reboiler on the "B" platform. There were no injuries or pollution (all fluids were contained). There was minor equipment damage, estimated at less than $1000 (the tin strip holding the insulation was damaged on the Glycol Reboiler). The leak was due to a pin hole leak from a weld on the reboiler.

22-Feb-2004 BP Exploration Inc.

Remarks: An operator was performing casing pressure diagnostics on a well. He was bleeding off pressure from the well through a ½-inch needle valve into a plastic DOT drum using stainless steel tubing. Apparently static electricity ignited the condensate being bled in to the plastic drum. During the process, the operator noticed flames coming from drum and tried to close the needle valve. He was unable to close valve. The fire was extinguished with a 30 lb fire extinguisher and fire water hose. The needle valve was then closed.

23-Feb-2004 Denbury Offshore Inc.

Remarks: Field personnel reported a small fire resulting from welding and burning operations. The incident involved cutting operations where hoses from cutting rig came in contact with hot slag. The fire watch used a 30 lb. extinguisher to put the fire out on the hoses.

25-Feb-2004 Forrest Oil Corp.

Remarks: Quality Preheat was attempting to heat a wellhead to 350⁰ F. The wellhead was sitting on a wooden pallet and it began to rain, so a tarp was placed over the wellhead to prevent it from cooling. The tarp was left on after the rain subsided. The welder walked around the corner to the trash compactor then noticed smoke and flames coming from around the wellhead. The fire was extinguished with three CO2 fire extinguishers. There were no injuries and the only damages were to the tarp and pallet.

26-Feb-2004 BP Exploration Inc.

Remarks: A 1/4 inch bleed plug on a fuel injection pump in the No. 8 engine blew out, spraying fuel on the overhead exhaust manifold. A flash fire occurred when the fuel contacted the manifold. The engine's own fire detection and suppression system came on and extinguished the fire. A fire team was mustered when the fire alarm sounded. The fire team monitored the area to allow the engine to cool and all emergency phone calls were made. A small amount of spilled fuel was cleaned from the area and no pollution entered the Gulf. There were no fatalities, injuries or equipment damage.

09-March-2004 Chevron Texaco Corp.

Remarks: Superior Energy Services wire line personnel was in the process of pulling gas lift valves out of the well, when the wire line helper noticed a burnt smell and then saw a small flame coming from the wire line unit starter solenoid. The fire was extinguished with a 30 lb fire extinguisher. The starter was sent to Guidry's Ignition Service where the starter was taken apart. The evaluation of the starter revealed corrosion inside the solenoid, which caused the starter’s bendix gear to stay engaged to the fly-wheel and generate a high voltage and enough heat to cause the fire.

13-March-2004 Chevron U.S.A. Inc.

Remarks: Upon installation of a wind generator, an electrical short to the ground occurred, discharging the energy of the batteries and igniting the insulation on the battery jumpers. The cause was found to be a positive termination in the wind generator conduit junction box  that was installed without insulation. The lack of a circuit breaker between the batteries and the fault location allowed the current to continue for duration sufficient to ignite the battery jumper insulation. Recommended actions to prevent this in the future: Only electrically skilled personnel shall terminate wiring circuits. Each termination shall be inspected to ensure termination meets NEC. All I&E crews shall be provided with detailed installation drawings prior to beginning installation.

13-March-2004 Amerada Hess Corp.

Remarks: A small fire occurred on top of and above the 65 barrel tank. At the time of the fire, simultaneous production and hot work operations were being conducted. The fire was discovered within approximately one minute of ignition and extinguished in three to four minutes using a combination of dry chemical fire extinguisher and water. There were no injuries but minor damage to electrical cable and two cable trays.

19-March-2004 Apache Corp.

Remarks: Operators on board the platform were in the process of starting a gas compressor when they discovered smoke coming from a temporary 125 KW Welch generator package. As the operators were responding to the incident, the generator's TSE performed its design function and shut in the platform (ESD). The operators responded and successfully extinguished the fire with 2 portable fire extinguishers. There were no injuries or pollution and the property damage is limited to the generator package, and this damage appears to be minimal.

31-March-2004 El Paso Prod. Co.

Remarks: While circulating bottoms up pumping  ZnBr2/CaBr2 fluid down tubing and up casing a metal to metal noise was heard in the fluid pump. A cloud of white smoke came from the pump skid pan of the Superior Energy Services pump. Closer inspection by the pump operator revealed the starter had fallen from the fly wheel cover of the engine and lay burning in the skid pan. A fire extinguisher was retrieved from a station within 10 feet and the small flame was put out within 40 seconds. After further investigation, the starter had come apart at the fly wheel housing and the heat buildup inside had ignited the paint on the exterior of the starter, as well as paint on the attached hoses. The operation was terminated as soon as the smoke was observed.

 10-April-2004 BHP Billiton Petroleum (GOM) Inc.
(Also listed as pollution)
 

Remarks: A fire occurred on the Glomar Explorer, knocking out the rig's DP control. The fire occurred in the SCR room due to a breaker being opened during routine maintenance. Three personnel extinguished the fire with hand held C0₂ extinguishers. These 3 people were treated for smoke inhalation on the rig and returned to work. About four hours later it was considered that a disconnect was imminent and the decision was made to displace the riser to seawater. This was performed with the diesel powered cement unit at 6.8 to 10.8 bpm. The riser displacement was relatively inefficient due to the low pump rate and 285 bbls of the 2200 bbl riser volume was left in the riser. The rig was able to regain DP control so riser was not disconnected. When the riser was displaced back to mud on April 11, 2004, 202 bbls of 285 bbls was captured at surface. A total of 83 bbls of  SBM, of which 57% or 47.36 bbl was OBM, was discharged to the sea during the displacement process.

27-April-2004 Century Exploration Co.

Remarks: Welding slag fell through the upper level deck grating onto the sump located at the +10 level. Gas escaping from the sump flame arrester from around the PVC piping entering the sump was ignited. Only PVC piping was damaged and the fire was extinguished using fire hose and hand held units.

02-May-2004 Murphy Exploration & Prod. Co.

Remarks: There was a grease fire in the drilling rig galley. While moving a pan that contained bacon and grease, the grease was spilled inside an electric stove which ignited.

19-May-2004 Spinnaker Exploration Co., L.L.C.
(Also listed as Injury)
 

Remarks: A well SSV was shut in so that the choke could be removed from the well head. A contract person had bled down the well pressure from the SSV through the choke. A contract employee removed the cap from the choke body and at this time an employee opened the well SSV by mistake. The gas pressure from the well went into the atmosphere through the open choke body and apparently a fire was ignited by a nearby generator. The pressure blew over and destroyed the meter and generator house and the fire burned the living quarters, the main generator and the telemetry systems. Two people were injured; one was in the living quarters and suffered burns. The other person jumped to the deck below the fire and broke a bone. Damages were estimated at $800,000.

04-June-2004 Shell Offshore Inc.

Remarks: As the Crane Operator was preparing to operate the crane, he observed smoke coming from the engine compartment and reported to the rig's central control room. He then investigated, and saw a small fire which he immediately extinguished with a hand held dry chemical extinguisher. Preliminary investigation results indicated a failure of an oil filter housing component which caused EviroLogic Hydraulic Fluid to come in contact with hot exhaust components. There was minimal damage and no spills to the GOM.

21-June-2004 Devon Energy Prod. Co. L.P.

Remarks: A minor fire occurred in the Fired Component No. 2 (EAL-1250) on Line Heater No. 1 (BAP-1240). The flames, which lasted no more than 1 minute were isolated to the Fired Component area. Production operations personnel immediately extinguished the fire with a portable dry chemical fire extinguisher. When the component shut-in the Blower Motor shutdown and the Pilot Fuel Gas SDV closed, but the Main Burner Fuel Gas SDV did not close, allowing the flame to travel through the blower. The Versa valve for the Main Blower Fuel Gas (SDV) failed (stuck). The Versa valve was repaired and successfully function tested several times.

21-June-2004 ExxonMobil Oil Corp.

Remarks: Lightning struck a compressor suction scrubber PSV causing it to relieve gas pressure. The fire lasted about 2 minutes once the PSV was reseated.

22-June-2004 BP Exploration & Prod. Inc.

Remarks: A paint crew was on board and a small motor, which was coated in a material to prevent intake of the overspray and covered with a tarp, the motor overheated and burned a 4 feet section of the tarp. There were no injuries and the only damage was the tarp.

22-June-2004 BP Exploration & Prod. Inc.

Remarks: Cigarette butt burned a 6 feet section of tarpaulin.

22-June-2004 ChevronTexaco Corporation

Remarks: Small fire started in dumpster because hot coals from cooking were dumped into it. Fire was put out with a water hose.

28-June-2004 BP Exploration & Prod. Inc.

Remarks: A small quantity of lubricating oil was left on an insulation blanket. After start up, the temperature of the exhaust ignited the oil causing the blanket to catch fire of 6 inches in height and length on the expansion joint. The fire was put out with a 30 lb. dry chemical unit.

13-July-2004 Devon Louisiana Corp.
(Also listed as Injury)
 

Remarks: A fitter was trimming a piece of grating on the deck. The deck was made of grating and a section of 3/8-inch tubing was ran in between the grating bars. A piece of slag or the torch flame hit the tubing which had 1220 lbs of gas pressure on it. The gas flashed and immediately went out. The Fitter was burned on the neck and left ear lobe. The Fitter was wearing his PPE, hard hat, safety glasses and face shield. The face shield was melted. Fire went around the shield and burned him on the neck and ear.

18-July-2004 El Paso Prod. Oil & Gas Co.

Remarks: The UV detector system tripped in the generator room and shut in the platform. The operator went to the gas generator room and found a small flame within the enclosure, and it was smoking badly. The fire was extinguished with a hand-held fire extinguisher. No TSEs were burned during this incident due to the small size of the actual heat source and length of time. The SAFE chart was referenced, and it appears that all items that were supposed to occur for a smoke detection did, in fact, occur. At the time of this writing, we are not certain as to the reason for the generator damage, but we are awaiting an electrician to arrive and access the situation. 4.2 gallons of condensate was leaked into the gulf waters from a leaking dump valve to the overboard water conditioner Unit. Damages were estimated at $12,000.

5-August-2004 Millennium Offshore Group, Inc.

Remarks: A small flash fire occurred in the drip pan below a valve being cut out with a torch. The fire was extinguished by a fire watch. No injury, pollution, or property damage.

8-August-2004 Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp.

Remarks: The operator reported a fire which occurred on the firewater pump number 2. The facilities fire loop system shut in production. The fire was extinguished with 30 lb. dry chemical extinguishers. No injuries or fatalities were reported. The facility has alternate firewater pumps to maintain the firewater system as required by regulations. Equipment failure was the cause of this fire.

10-August-2004 ExxonMobil Oil Corp.

Remarks: Lightning ignited the vent for the glycol hydrocarbon separator. The fire lasted for 30 minutes before the flame was extinguished by shutting off the fuel source.

11-August-2004 ConocoPhillips Company

Remarks: A small fire occurred on the 1250 KW temporary generator. Two mechanical technicians responded to a power failure and investigated the cause of the shut down. The alarm summary reported that the temporary generator had shut down on an emergency stop/ESD. Investigation into the power outage failed to detect a malfunction. The ESD was cleared and the temporary generator restarted. A small flame near the base of the turbocharger at the lube oil supply line for the turbo bearings occurred shortly after start up. The fire was immediately extinguished with one portable fire extinguisher and the engine stop control and ESD were activated immediately. Approximately one week prior to this event, the braded stainless steel oil lube line for the turbo bearings was replaced.

16-August-2004 LLOG Exploration Co.

Remarks: Two contract operators were working on the starters for the pipeline pumps and mistakenly left the vent line hoses off the starter vents. The compressor was shut in and it blew down pressure and vented to towards the pipeline skid, then gas and fluid from the compressor vent line hoses leaked into the pipeline skid and ignited a fire. The lead operator was burned on his face and hands and the other operator was sent in to the hospital for a check up and was okay and returned to the job site. The fire was extinguished with six 30 lbs and two 150 lbs dry chemical extinguishers. Damages were estimated at $96,000.

17-August-2004 Millennium Offshore Group, Inc.

Remarks: A small flash fire occurred in the production separation skid at the platform. The fire lasted 5-10 seconds before it was extinguished without any injuries to personnel or equipment.

18-August-2004 Remington Oil & Gas Corp.

Remarks: A fire was reported in the P-tank room of the Rig Rowan Texas. The fire which was located in the P-Tank room on the overhead cable rack occurred while the rig was drilling. The P-Tank room is located below deck in the bow of the Rowan Texas. The cable rack is located almost above the P-Tank and beside the wall to the generator room. The fire was an electrical fire. The fire was extinguished by Rowan personnel using hand held dry chemical extinguishers. Duration of the fire was 4- 5 minutes. At this time the cause of the fire is unknown. Initial estimate of damage is approximately $10,000 in electrical wiring. No injuries to personnel or structural damage to the rig occurred.

24-August-2004 Anglo-Suisse Offshore Partners, LLC

Remarks: A compressor started to backfire, and fire and smoke was seen coming from the oil relief canisters.

26-August-2004 Anglo-Suisse Offshore Partners, LLC

Remarks: A Universal Compression mechanic stated that he was checking the left bank of the compressor engine when the engine rolled over. Gas and liquid came out of starter area and ignited causing burns to both his facial and arm hairs. He then climbed down and the A-operator and the mechanic helper used a 30 lb. fire extinguisher to put out small remaining fire around the starter area.

28-August-2004 Shell Offshore Inc.

Remarks: A minor fire developed on a rental diesel generator around the exhaust insulation. The unit was shut down due to low oil pressure. The fire was extinguished immediately using a nearby 30 lb. hand-held extinguisher. There were no injuries or damage.

28-August-2004 Shell Offshore Inc.
(Also listed as Injury)
 

Remarks: A small grease fire occurred on the grill in the galley. The fire was immediately smothered out with a fire blanket that was stored in the galley. While putting the fire out with the fire blanket, the cook sustained minor 1st degree burns on the right arm. The cook was immediately treated by the facility medic and returned to duty. Investigation of the incident determined that the fire occurred from grease residue that had accumulated under the grill. There was one minor injury, no pollution and no damage.

15-Sept.-2004 Stone Energy Corp.

Remarks: The diesel generator was started before evacuating the platform for the hurricane. Upon returning to the platform it was discovered that the diesel generator caught on fire due to a broken fuel line which must have sprayed diesel onto the exhaust. The cost estimate of the damage is approximately $10,000.

26-Sept.-2004 SPN Resources, LLC  

Remarks: There was a fire in the emergency generator. The generator had been running for the last 3 days when it caught fire. The fire was extinguished with two 30 lb extinguishers. A 30 minute fire watch was posted.

04-Oct.-2004 El Paso Prod. Co.

Remarks: Hot Glycol from the Glycol reboiler fire tube leaked onto plastic coated electrical wiring, which is part of the wiring used to ignite the reboiler when it is put into service. Upon investigation it was learned that the fire tube was cracked, possibly due to corrosion. The fire was extinguished with handheld and wheel dry chemical portable units and water. Damages are estimated for $150,000.

07-Oct.-2004 Newfield Exploration Co.

Remarks: At this time, it is suspected that the oil reservoir overheated within the compressor which started the fire. The operators on the platform were able to shutdown the compressor by using the unit ESD System. Hand held fire extinguishers were utilized to extinguish the fire. The compressor battery had to be disconnected to prevent it from trying to restart. The fire was limited to the rental Air Compressor. It appears that the control panel for the Air Compressor sustained damage (approximately $3000.00). There were no injuries or damages to the platform components. The platform was shut-in before the fire.

13-Oct.-2004 W & T Offshore Inc.
(Also listed as Injury)
   

Remarks: While transferring methanol from a tote tank to the facility storage container, using a polyflo hose, a leak developed in the transfer hose, which allowed methanol to spray on the generator exhaust, igniting the methanol. The operator shut a valve on the transfer pump but some methanol had already been released to the atmosphere. The operator initiated a platform ESD and the fire was extinguished in one minute with a handheld fire extinguisher. One of the operators sustained 2nd degree burns to areas of his left hand and left leg. He was treated and released by a physician.

15-Oct.-2004 Apache Corp.

Remarks: A hole in the shell-tube developed. Blanket gas under atmospheric pressure escaped. It is suspected that the static electricity ignited and caused the small fire. The fire did not activate the Fusible Loops (TSE), and the safety system did not shut in the platform. However, the production operators on the platform were able to extinguish the fire utilizing hand held fire extinguishers. The fire was limited to the Re-boiler vessel. There were no injuries and equipment damage was estimated at approximately $4000.00.

21-Oct.-2004 The Houston Exploration Co.

Remarks: A small fire occurred in the tool shed. The fire may have begun due to embers falling from a cooking pit on the upper deck.

21-Oct.-2004 Apache Oil Corp.

Remarks: At midnight the operators got an alarm (PSD Solenoid). They went down to the production deck and saw a fire on the re-boilier. The insulation was on fire. They unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire with a 150 lb, 250 lb and two 30 lbs dry chemical extinguishers. They hit the ESD on the platform, called Harbor Island Dispatch to report the fire and abandoned the platform. The fire was later extinguished by a motor vessel with water cannons.

21-Oct.-2004 Apache Oil Corp.

Remarks: The L.P. Hydrocarbon separator water dump valve was cut out and condensate flowed into the water skimmer, which caused condensate to go overboard with the overboard discharge water. The condensate then spread around on top the water around the platform SE and NE corners of the facility. Welders were on the boat landing welding when a spark from their flame hit the water and caused a fire to occur due to the condensate. A gas detector activated an alarm and the platform was shut in (ESD). About this time the fire occurred on the water and traveled under the living quarters and drilling rig. The personnel fought the fire for 15 minutes and extinguished the fire with water and dry chemicals. There were no injuries or damages.

23-Oct.-2004 El Paso Prod. Oil & Gas Co.

Remarks: An operator at another platform observed smoke coming from WC538-A, which was unmanned. He sent the field boat to investigate the situation. They found that the generator room and living quarters were on fire. The boat immediately started spraying water on the facility. The fire was confined to the living quarters and generator room. The exact cause of the fire will probably be difficult to determine since the living quarters and generator room were totally destroyed. The heliport was condemned. There were no injuries or pollution as a result of this incident.

31-Oct.-2004 Taylor Energy Co.

Remarks: A brief unusual noise was heard about the time that the production process alarm sounded and the fire pumps started automatically. The operators left the control room and observed a large fire at the I/P compressor skid and an intense fire around the diesel pump. The general alarm sounded and all personnel mustered and decided to fight the fire. The ignition source is undetermined. Apparently gas was released by either a failed compressor final stage fuel gas regulator and/or a failed compressor starter relay valve. The fire was extinguished by the platform personnel. There were various chemical liquids that also ignited and burned. Damages were estimated at about $500,000.

5-Nov.-2004 EOG Resources, Inc.
(Also listed as Collision)
        

Remarks: A Freighter collided with our platform. There were no injuries associated with this incident, the platform was unmanned and all of the wells were shut in. EOG Resources immediately activated their Oil Spill Contingency Plan. EOG worked closely with O'Brien's Oil Pollution and Clean Gulf. Clean Gulf dispatched the vessel Timbalier Bay to assist in any clean-up. There was significant fire damage to the southern end of the platform. The northern half of the platform appears in good shape where all wells on this platform are located.

5-Nov.-2004 Apache Corporation          

Remarks: A small fire occurred outside of the turbocharger housing on the gas compressor engine. The fire was extinguished with one 30 lb portable fire extinguisher. Operator personnel responded to an alarm from the compressor unit and the equipment was manually shut down. Smoke was observed emanating from the engine's turbocharger housing. The compressor remained shut down overnight. The next morning the compressor was thoroughly cleaned, inspected and a complete function test of the unit's safety system was conducted. No damage was found, all systems functioned properly and the compressor was returned to service without incident. The source of the fuel outside the turbocharger housing remains unknown.

6-Nov.-2004 Newfield Exploration Co.

Remarks: Hot work was being performed on the upper mezzanine deck when slag fell on a tarpaulin covering the skim pile, catching the tarpaulin on fire. The Fire watch was in place with a water hose and extinguished the fire. The nozzle he was spraying from an upper level did not allow the bottom part of the tarp to get wet, so when slag hit that part, the small fire occurred. Only the tarpaulin caught on fire.

12-Nov.-2004 Marathon Oil Co.

Remarks: The platform was operating normally with welding operations being conducted, when a fire occurred at the overboard produced water discharge point. A production process upset allowed natural gas to remain entrained in the water discharge. The water then flowed out the discharge outlet and accumulated near the platform on the waters surface. Falling slag during a construction project from a welder’s torch ignited the gas on the waters surface. An attempt to extinguish the fire with three dry chemical units each weighing 30 lb was unsuccessful. At this time the platform was shut in and this stopped the water pumps, which cut off the fire’s fuel source and the fire went out. The fire caused no damage or injuries. The findings indicate that the gas cooling unit suffered from corrosion and allowed gas to enter the cooling medium. The cooling medium is saltwater, which is used to cool the hot compressed gas. A gas detector was used before the hot work began and no gas was detected. No  damages were reported.

17-Nov.-2004  Shell Offshore Inc.

Remarks: While conducting coil tubing operations, the insulation surrounding the exhaust piping on a nitrogen compressor caught fire. It was immediately put out with hand held extinguishers. There were no damages or injuries.

20-Nov.-2004 Chevron Texaco Corp.

Remarks: Two Universal Compression mechanics did preventive maintenance on the generator and had the engine running for about 2 hours. The mechanics noticed sparks and black smoke coming from the generator portion of the unit. They said that they saw small flames inside the unit. They immediately shut the engine down and extinguished the small flames inside the generator unit quickly with a 30lb dry chemical fire extinguisher.

28-Nov.-2004 ExxonMobil Oil Corp.

Remarks: Smoke was observed coming from the pipeline pump which was immediately shut down. A small fire was observed on the pipeline driver clutch assembly. The fire resulted from a slipping clutch due to low supply pressure to the bladder in the clutch assembly.

5-Dec.-2004 Kerr-McGee Corp.

Remarks: During the monthly under load test run of the emergency generator there was a small fire near the generator turbo. The generator was about 45 minutes into its run with about 1500kw on the generator. The electrician at the generator saw an 18-inch flame in the area between the engine exhaust and the turbo. He called to the 2nd electrician to shutdown the generator, then grabbed the CO2 extinguisher and put the flame out. During this time the central control room and personnel were notified that the situation was under control. Maintenance removed and investigated the hot box around the engine exhaust and it was determined that unburnt fuel had collected around the expansion joint between the turbo & exhaust. The temperature of the unburnt fuel had reached flammable levels high enough to ignite Well No. 18.

11-Dec.-2004 Devon Corporation         

Remarks: A small rubber hose fire near the exhaust venture piping and turbo area on the No. 1 compressor occurred. The fire was extinguished with one portable fire extinguisher. The venture piping had cracked allowing hot gases to vent against the rubber hose causing the rubber hose to ignite. The compressor was shut down and the venture piping and rubber hose were replaced. There were no injuries, no pollution and the damaged equipment was replaced.

22-Dec.-2004 GOM Shelf LLC

Remarks: The fire detection system in the generator room (UV system) detected a flame and performed a platform shut-in and alarm to the operators in the living quarters. This is a manned platform and has two operators on board at all times. Upon investigation of the alarm, the operators did not see a fire but could smell burnt wire. The air compressor and electric motor were still hot to the touch, so they were sprayed with a CO2 extinguisher. After investigating the fire, the operator felt it was caused by the heat generated from the loss of lubricating oil around the shaft of the air compressor due to the failure of a seal. This was due to a cascade of events stemming from the air compressor failure, breakdown of the seal on the interface housing between the compressor and electric motor, and leakage of oil into the air compressor. The damage to the air compressor, electric motor, and miscellaneous parts were estimated at approximately $5000.00.

23-Dec.-2004 El Paso Prod. Oil & Gas Co.
(also listed as Explosion)

Remarks: The platform was in production and had a welding and burning operation going on at the same time. The welders were cutting a segment of piping with a torch about 8 feet above a water conditioner float cell vessel when a piece of hot slag apparently fell or blew into the opening in a hatch of the float cell. The explosion blew off the hatch covers to the float cell. This resulted in a small fire inside the float cell vessel. The vessel was in service and was not covered with a fire blanket. The blanket (supply) gas to the float cell vessel was shut off before this operation started which allowed air to enter the vessel creating a flammable mixture. The operator personnel immediately extinguished the fire in one minute.

Last Updated: 10/19/09, 11:52 AM