§ Mr. DoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will provide a list of all installations of submarine emergency shutdown valves in oil and gas pipelines which have been or are being, or are planned to be carried out since the Piper Alpha disaster;
(2) how many existing oil and gas pipelines were fitted with submarine emergency shutdown valves prior to the Piper Alpha disaster; and what are their locations;
(3) if he will provide a list of all oil and gas pipelines with an operating pressure in excess of 600 lb per sq in and a diameter of 6 in or greater which do not contain submarine emergency shutdown valves; and if he will also provide a list of the production platforms, onshore reception terminals and other facilities which are connected to these pipelines.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThere are approximately 124 offshore oil and gas pipelines with an operating pressure in excess of 600 pounds per sq in and a diameter of 6 in or greater that do not have sub-sea emergency shut down valves fitted. Full details of these have been placed in the Library.
Six pipelines had sub-sea emergency shut down valves fitted prior to the Piper Alpha accident, located adjacent to the Brent Alpha, Fulmar, Murchison, Balmoral, Buchan 678W and Argyll platforms. It was also intended that two valves would be installed on the new pipeline, yet to be commissioned, in the Ivanhoe/Rob Roy field.
Following the Piper Alpha accident and in response to a letter from my director of safety asking for pipeline isolation arrangements to be reviewed, the industry has to date made proposals for the installation of an additional 26 sub-sea pipeline isolation systems, seven of which have already been installed. A list of these has also been placed in the Library. My Department is giving urgent consideration to the proposals from operators and I expect the completion of the review work to identify the need for additional systems.
These systems together with the mandatory offshore installation isolation systems, the proposals for which were issued for consultation this week, will provide a further step to greater safety offshore.
§ Mr. DoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy why the list of major changes to the Piper Alpha platform in annex B to the technical investigation interim report does not mention the tie-in of the Tartan field gas export pipeline to the Piper platform.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe tie-in of the Tartan field gas export pipeline to the Piper Alpha installation was outside the scope of annex B of the technical investigation interim report but is covered elsewhere in the report.