Gunashli Platform No.10 fire

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Gunashli Platform No. 10 fire
GunashliPlatformNo10Fire.jpg
Date4 December 2015 (2015-12-04)
Time17:40 local time
Location Azerbaijani section of Caspian Sea
CauseDamaged gas riser due to heavy storm
Deaths12
Non-fatal injuries31 [1]
Missing18[ citation needed ] (as of December 2017)

On 4 December 2015, a deadly fire broke out in the northern part of platform No. 10 at the western section of the Gunashli oilfield operated by SOCAR. [2] [3] The fire started, according to SOCAR, when a high-pressure subsea gas pipeline was damaged in a heavy storm. [2] [4] [5] As a result of the fire, the platform, which had been in service since 1984, partially collapsed. [6] [7] [8] Fire spread to several oil and gas wells. [9] [7] [8] Production at all 28 wells (24 oil wells and 4 gas wells) [7] connected to the platform was suspended, pipelines connecting the platform to the shore were closed, and electricity to the platform was cut off. [8] [6] Before the accident, the platform produced 920 tonnes of oil and 1.08 million cubic metres (38 million cubic feet) of gas per day. [7] [10] About 60% of the oil produced by SOCAR was transported through this platform. [6]

At the time of the accident, 63 workers were on the platform. [8] According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, 12 workers are confirmed killed, 18 are still missing (as of December 2017), 33 were rescued; and nine were hospitalized. [11] [12] According to SOCAR, people went missing when a life boat with 34 people on board fell from the platform into the sea and was damaged after hitting piles of the platform. [5] [8] On 5 December, the Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal investigation into the possible violation of fire safety rules. [5] [13] President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed an Order declaring 6 December 2015 a day of mourning for those who died in the incident. [14]

Related Research Articles

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An oil platform is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platforms will also have facilities to accommodate the workers, although it is also common to have a separate accommodation platform bridge linked to the production platform. Most commonly, oil platforms engage in activities on the continental shelf, though they can also be used in lakes, inshore waters, and inland seas. Depending on the circumstances, the platform may be fixed to the ocean floor, consist of an artificial island, or float. In some arrangements the main facility may have storage facilities for the processed oil. Remote subsea wells may also be connected to a platform by flow lines and by umbilical connections. These sub-sea facilities may include of one or more subsea wells or manifold centres for multiple wells.

The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, largely known by its abbreviation SOCAR, is fully state-owned national oil and gas company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and natural gas from onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani segment of the Caspian Sea. It operates the country's only oil refinery, one gas processing plant and runs several oil and gas export pipelines throughout the country. It owns fuel filling station networks under the SOCAR brand in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neft Daşları</span> Place in Baku, Azerbaijan

Neft Daşları is an industrial settlement in Baku, Azerbaijan. The settlement forms part of the municipality of Çilov-Neft Daşları in the Pirallahy raion. It lies 100 km (62 mi) away from the Azerbaijani capital Baku, and 55 km (34 mi) from the nearest shore in the Caspian Sea. A full town on the sea, it was the first oil platform in Azerbaijan, and the first operating offshore oil platform in the world, incorporating numerous drilling platforms. It is featured in Guinness World Records as the world's first offshore oil platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Deniz gas field</span>

Shah Deniz gas field is the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. It is situated in the South Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan, approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Baku, at a depth of 600 metres (2,000 ft). The field covers approximately 860 square kilometres (330 sq mi). Stretching out over 140 square kilometres, the reservoir is similar in size and shape to Manhattan Island.

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Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli or Azeri–Chirag–Deepwater Gunashli is a complex of oil fields in the Caspian Sea, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) off the coast of Azerbaijan. It consists of the Azeri and Chirag oil fields, and the deepwater portion of the Gunashli oil field. An overall estimate of the area of the development is 432.4 square kilometres (167.0 sq mi). It is developed by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, a consortium of international oil companies, and operated by BP on behalf of the consortium. The ACG fields have estimated recoverable reserves of about 5 to 6 billion barrels of petroleum. Peak oil production of 835,000 barrels per day (132,800 m3/d) was reached in 2010, however by the first quarter of 2022 production had declined to 434,000 barrels per day (69,000 m3/d), or about one-half of peak value. As of 2021, ACG oil accounted for 95% of all Azerbaijani oil exports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natig Aliyev</span> Azerbaijani politician

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Energy in Azerbaijan describes energy and electricity production, consumption and export in Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karabakh oilfield</span>

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Gunashli is an offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea, located 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Baku, Azerbaijan, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of Oil Rocks and its deep water section is a part of the larger Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli (ACG) project. The Azerbaijani translation of Gunashli means "sunny". Gunashli is believed to have more than 100 million tonnes of oil reserves.

Bahar is an offshore oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, located 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Baku, Azerbaijan. The field was discovered in 1968 and was first developed in 1969. Prior to 2010, it produced approximately 16.8 million tonnes of oil and 128.7 billion cubic meters of gas. There had been up to 93 wells operating in the field during the peak of production; the number has since decreased to 16.

Gum Deniz is an offshore oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, located 21 km (13 mi) southeast of Baku, Azerbaijan. The field has been in operation since 1955. Gum Deniz has produced approximately 28.9 million tonnes of oil and 27 billion cubic meters of gas to date. In March 2009, Azerbaijan drilled its last well No. 478 in Gum Deniz field before new production sharing agreement for development of the field was signed with a foreign company in December 2009. The well produces 50 tonnes of oil on daily basis.

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Shafag-Asiman is a large complex of offshore geological structures in the Caspian Sea located 125 km (78 mi) southeast of Baku, Azerbaijan. The Shafag and Asiman structures have been previously called D8 and D10, respectively.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absheron gas field</span>

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