Piper Alpha

Lord Cullen's public inquiry into the disaster, reported November 1990 The fire on the North Sea platform in 1988 cost 167 lives. Cullen's report made 106 recommendations, and the Energy Secretary told Parliament all of them would be implemented as quickly as possible. Two changed offshore work for good. Operators had to set out their hazards in a safety case, updated at regular intervals, and the Department of Energy was stripped of its responsibility for offshore safety, which passed to the Health and Safety Executive. For anyone interested in how Britain regulates dangerous industries, this is the report that moved oil and gas from rule-following to operators proving their own installations safe.