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On March 15, 2001, explosions on the Petrobras P-36 offshore oil rig killed 11 workers. Five days later, the $500-million semi-submersible platform, the largest production platform in the world, sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil.
Company reports indicated that natural gas leaked into a column and was ignited. One of the questions that remains in many minds is whether the P-36 disaster was an accident or partly the result of negligence by engineers.
The platform was originally built in Italy but was later modified in Canada. It was responsible for five per cent of Brazil's oil production and was on track to double that output when the disaster struck.
According to the final report of the Inquiry Commission, the sinking of the P-36 platform was the culmination of three events. The first was the rupture of the emergency drain storage tank in one of the four platform columns, namely, the starboard aft column. It is thought that the accidental entry of hydrocarbons and water into the tank created an excessive internal pressure resulting in the rupture of the tank. The fourth level was flooded and the emergency firefighting service responded to the crisis.
Next, the gas rose from the fourth level to the upper platform, producing an explosive mixture. Seventeen minutes later the dispersed gas came into contact with an ignition source and an explosion occurred where 11 firefighters were located. At 1:45 a.m. evacuation began....