Port was designed to load only small LNG Tankers for short distances           

Death Toll Currently:   27 

Workers Injured:  74

Blast Felt Miles Away

Facility Destroyed

Fires Raged For 8 Hours

Property Damage: Approx. $ 1 Billion

Cause: Initially: "Defective Boiler" Which Had Earlier Received "Superficial Repairs"

Cause: Currently: Liquefied Natural Gas Leak in Pipe

BBC NEWS

Four killed in Algeria gas blast 

Monday, 19 January, 2004, 21:35 GMT

Full Story: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3411651.stm 

ABSTRACTS:

    An explosion at a natural gas complex in Algeria has killed at least four people and injured about 60 others. The blast took place at a state-owned liquefied natural gas unit in the industrial zone of the north-eastern coastal town of Skikda.

    "We're still fighting the fires but we have yet to determine the cause of the explosion," a civil defense official in Skikda told Reuters news agency.

    One witness told Reuters the explosion was felt miles away.     © BBC MMIV

Yet, the Energy Industry Still Insists LNG is Safe for Our American Communities

albawaba.com, January 20, 2004

Blast at Algerian liquefied natural gas plant 

Kills at least 20 people

Full Story: https://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=268430&lang=e&dir=news

© Copyright Al-Bawaba.Com 2004 gln nlg gnl

Full Story: https://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/01/20/rtr1217715.html

    LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A huge explosion at the Skikda liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Algeria ...

     The blast ripped through the Skikda LNG plant, one of two in Algeria, late on Monday killing at least 23 people and shutting down all activity at the oil and gas refining complex...

    A port agent said the explosion, the worst accident at an LNG site in nearly 30 years ...

    The port at Skikda is designed to load small LNG tankers ...

    "Skikda can only take small ships... 

Reuters    

At least 27 dead in Algeria blast, refinery shut  

January 20, 2004

By Zohra Bensemra

Full Story: https://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp;:400d65e8:2f1f10da5ee06141?type=worldNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4165226 

    SKIKDA, Algeria (Reuters) - At least 27 workers died when a gas plant blew up ...

    The powerful blast and consequent fires devastated......

    It was the worst LNG accident since 1975 when about 40 people died in an explosion in Staten Island, U.S., according to Andrew Flower, an independent gas consultant...  

Channelnewsasia.com

21 January 2004 0044 hrs (SST)  

Algerian gas plant explosion kills 27, injures 72 

Full Story: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/67231/1/.html

    ALGIERS : At least 27 people were killed and 72 injured when a huge explosion, apparently caused by a defective boiler, ripped through a liquefied natural gas plant ...

    He said specialists had filed a report "more than a year ago" indicating that the boiler in question was defective. "Superficial repairs" had been carried out on the boiler, he said.

    A woman living close to the plant, about 10 kilometres (six miles) outside Skikda, said: "There was a heavy blast and everything started to shake and the windows of my apartment were blown out."

    Speaking haltingly, she said the complex was engulfed in smoke and flames. "We all ran out, we helped the handicapped and the old people," she said, adding: "Many of them were in shock and the children were crying."

    ...  fire at the plant had been brought under control early Tuesday after raging for almost eight hours.

Yet, the Energy Industry Insists LNG does not Explode

1/21/04  

MOBILE REGISTER

More bodies found at LNG blast scene

At least 27 dead at facility similar to terminals proposed for Mobile Bay

 Full Story:  https://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1074680100132040.xml

    Searchers discovered 10 more bodies at a liquefied natural gas complex in Algeria leveled by an explosion, raising the death toll to at least 27... Seventy-four people were injured... dozen workers were believed missing...

    Information available from the Halliburton Co. of Texas shows that the oil construction giant had in recent years revamped the Algerian facility to the latest performance standards...

    Industry officials and some government officials have said that such facilities have a spotless safety record, could not explode, and would pose little risk to surrounding communities. But in recent months, the Mobile Register has reported that government officials have sometimes used faulty studies to make their case to the public...

    LNG industry officials maintained that the accident in Algeria should not affect how the public perceives LNG terminals in the United States.

    "I would not make a direct link between the accident and any U.S. site, Mobile included," said ExxonMobil spokesman Bob Davis in Houston. "As tragic as the Algerian accident is, I don't think it negates the outstanding 40-year safety record of LNG in the world."

    Davis said that the Algerian facility is "one of the oldest LNG facilities in the world, vintage 1970s. I think certainly from our point of view, the technology on these facilities has advanced substantially in that 30-year period."

    But a Halliburton Co. Web site states that its engineering branch, KBR, updated the entire Skikda terminal as recently as 1999. The Web site touts the project as a model of modern American workmanship.

    "Halliburton Company is pleased to announce that its recently completed Liquefied Natural Gas Revamp Project at Skikda, Algeria, has passed all its performance tests," reads the company press release announcing the project's completion. "KBR's work included extensive revamp of the three LNG trains and associated utilities and auxiliaries and a complete revamp of the complex's electrical power and control systems. ... Over 9,000,000 construction man-hours were expended. "

    Lyons said the reports he read Tuesday claim a high-pressure boiler in need of maintenance was the cause of the accident.

    "They wouldn't have high-pressure boilers at an LNG receiving terminal. I don't see any parallel in any respect to what is being contemplated anywhere along the Gulf Coast as far as LNG receiving terminals," Lyons said.

    Register research, however, indicates that most existing LNG receiving terminals employ numerous boilers, many of them generating high pressure. For instance, a newly proposed LNG terminal in Freeport, Texas, would use six high-pressure vaporizers connected to 12 boilers, according to documents posted on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site.

    Most LNG tankers are also powered by steam turbine engines that require large high-pressure boilers. Scientists say that an accident or terrorist attack involving a tanker could produce a fire that is much larger than an LNG fire on land...

(Mobile Register Staff Reporters Bill Finch, Ben Raines and Lee Davidson contributed to this article.)

Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved.

UpstreamOnline.com

February 3, 2004

Industry opponents have a field day
Full Story: https://www.upstreamonline.com/news/article.jsp?Id=EPS_52937

By Dann Rodgers

Opponents of LNG import projects in the US have wasted no time in pointing to last week's tragedy in Algeria as highlighting safety concerns about such facilities

"The Algerian explosion destroyed more than an LNG facility -- it destroyed the industry myth that LNG is safe," said consumer protection advocate Tim Riley, who hosts the website TimRileyLaw.com that documents what he sees as the dangers of the fuel.

"Quite simply, LNG is too damn dangerous and the energy industry has always known it. The American communities facing LNG proposals have listened to the LNG 'safety spin' but have now heard the explosive truth, galvanizing opposition.

"The blast was felt around the world and serves as a wake-up call to private investors, financial institutions and insurance carriers who would risk major losses from another inevitable LNG disaster," Riley declared.

In Weaver's Cove, Massachusetts, Mayor Edward Lambert opposes a local LNG import terminal proposal precisely because of the Algerian disaster.

"This speaks to the credibility of those people who are running around saying how safe this stuff is, saying it doesn't explode. It clearly points to the safety concerns that these terminals don't belong in populated areas."

Local Fire Chief Ed Dawson noted that fires at LNG import terminals are rare but that the Algerian situation illustrates the danger they present. "The chances of it happening here are very remote. But the reality of it is we just had an incident in Algeria. The devastation speaks for itself."
 

 Again, the Energy Industry's LNG Safety Claims Leave us Speechless 

In Light of The Algerian LNG Disaster of January 19, 2004 Ask Yourself... 

How Will The LNG Proponents Now Spin LNG's "Safety" Record Which They Limited To The Past 40 Years Post Dating The 1944 Cleveland Disaster?

Will Their New "Safety" Record Commence From January 20, 2004, Post Dating The Algerian LNG Disaster?

Will They Still Claim LNG IS Safe?

Will They Continue To Claim LNG Has An Outstanding 40-Year Safety Record?

Well, The Answers May Be Provided By Recent Quotes From

MOBILE REGISTER, January 21, 2004

More bodies found at LNG blast scene 

     "I would not make a direct link between the accident and any U.S. site, Mobile included," said ExxonMobil spokesman Bob Davis in Houston. "As tragic as the Algerian accident is,  I don't think it negates the outstanding 40-year safety record of LNG in the world."  

UpstreamOnline.com, February 3, 2004

Industry opponents have a field day

        "Alabama State Docks Director James Lyons said the Algerian accident, which appears to have resulted from a malfunctioning boiler, could not happen in the US. "They wouldn't have high-pressure boilers at an LNG receiving terminal. I don't see a parallel in any respect to what is being contemplated to build anywhere along the Gulf Coast."

LNG Proponents Scrambling to Salvage Their Current Proposals in America Have Very Little Wiggle-Room to Work With As They Advance Their Over Simplistic Rationalization To The One Billion Dollar Algerian LNG Disaster i.e. The LNG Facility Explosion was not really an "LNG" Issue but... was just a boiler malfunction.

February 23, 2004

LA TIMES

Blast Traced to LNG Leak

Preliminary finding in the probe of a Jan. 19 explosion in Algeria

Worries proponents of California gas plants.

Full Story: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lng23feb23,1,5084104.story?coll=la-home-business

By Deborah Schoch

     A recent explosion that killed 27 people at an Algerian natural gas complex is believed to have started with a leak of liquefied natural gas, Algeria's top U.S. emissary said last week, worrying proponents of LNG import terminals in California and across the country.  

    The Algerian government initially blamed a faulty steam boiler. But Idriss Jazairy, the Algerian ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview that preliminary results of an investigation traced the accident to LNG that leaked from a pipe, turned into a gas and exploded. 

    Industry executives in the United States reacted with consternation to Jazairy's comments, and some wondered privately whether another liquid gas, such as propane — rather than LNG — might actually be responsible.

     They expressed concern that the burgeoning LNG import industry could suffer a major setback if the investigation ended up concluding that LNG was the culprit in the Jan. 19 explosion, which injured more than 80 people in the Algerian port city of Skikda…  

April 14, 2004

Report sheds new light on LNG blast in Algeria

Full Story: https://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1081934271102960.xml

Document suggests that deadly explosion was caused by gas vapor, not boiler

By BEN RAINES    

“A newly released document provides important insights into the chain of events that led to the January explosion of a liquefied natural gas facility in the African nation of Algeria.”

 “Several scientists who specialize in LNG research said the document indicates that a similar accident could occur at LNG plants like those proposed for Mobile Bay and elsewhere in the United States.” 

“Initial reports blamed a faulty steam boiler for the massive explosion and fire at the government-owned Skikda, Algeria, plant. Those reports were incorrect, according to the new document presented by Sonatrach, owner of the destroyed LNG plant. “

 “A PowerPoint display titled "‘The Incident at the Skikda Plant: Description and Preliminary Conclusions’ indicates, instead, that a large amount of liquid gas escaped from a pipe and formed a cloud of highly flammable and explosive vapor that hovered over the facility. The cloud exploded after coming into contact with a flame source.”

 “Most of the 27 people who died were killed by the force of the blast, according to the report. The report lists a "‘few casualties by fire,’ though the fire burned for eight hours.”

 “But several scientists who examined the new report told the Mobile Register that the type of accident described in it could occur at an LNG facility in this country, regardless of the type or number of boilers present. Almost any source of ignition, from a cigarette lighter to a pilot light, could have ignited a vapor cloud.”

 "‘I think this tells us that dealing with LNG is a tricky and dangerous business,’ said James Fay, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the nation's leading LNG scientists. ‘It was apparently a very large gas leak that went on for a while before the explosion. That certainly doesn't give you a lot of faith in their gas detection equipment, with all this gas leaking out. I guess this means sometimes that equipment doesn't work.’"

 "‘The fact that there was a vapor cloud is huge," said Bill Powers, an engineer based in California who has studied LNG terminals, siting issues for both onshore and offshore proposals. "We don't know if it was an LNG vapor cloud or an LPG cloud or a mix of both, but, either way, it means it is the kind of accident that could happen here.’"

 “Powers also felt it was noteworthy that Halliburton had conducted a major renovation of the Skikda plant in 1999, updating all of the key safety equipment and computer systems.”

 “A Halliburton Co. Web site touts the revamped LNG terminal as a model of modern American workmanship.”

 "‘Halliburton Company is pleased to announce that its recently completed Liquefied Natural Gas Revamp Project at Skikda, Algeria, has passed all its performance tests," reads the company news release announcing the project's completion. "KBR's work included extensive revamp of the three LNG trains and associated utilities and auxiliaries and a complete revamp of the complex's electrical power and control systems. ... Over 9,000,000 construction man-hours were expended.’"

 “The three separate LNG regasification plants or "trains" that were revamped by Halliburton were destroyed in the explosion.”

 “Powers said Halliburton's engineers had missed a weak link in their safety planning for the facility.”

 Copyright 2004 al.com. All Rights Reserved. 

Will the LNG Spin-Doctors Have The Audacity to Continue Their Head-Spinning Denial ?

Will They Still Insist the Algerian LNG Disaster was Not Related to LNG?

Will They Now Claim the LNG Disaster was just a "pipe malfunction" As If That Were Somehow Comforting?

LNG Accidents Can Be Caused By A Multitude of Industrial Malfunctions.

History of LNG Accidents

• The Cleveland Disaster, U.S. 1944  The very first commercial LNG facility built in the United States in 1941, caused a major industrial accident known as the "The Cleveland Disaster."  Where, in 1944, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines report, LNG holding tanks failed and released their contents into the streets and sewers and their vaporous cloud ignited and fire engulfed the nearby residents and commercial establishments. LNG destroyed 79 Homes, 2 Factories, 217 Cars, 7 Trailers, Left 680 Homeless, Injured 225 and Killed 131. The fiery LNG inferno devastated one square mile of Cleveland, Ohio.

• Methane Princess Spill, 1965. The LNG discharging arms on a vessel which were disconnected before the liquid lines had been completely drained – caused another LNG accident

• Jules Verne Spill, May 1965. Failure of the liquid level instrumentation – caused another LNG accident

• La Spezia, Italy, 1971. Phenomenon called rollover, where two layers of LNG having different densities and heat content are allowed to form back flow of natural gas from the compressor to the nitrogen line – caused another LNG accident

• Montreal East, Quebec, Canada, 1972.  Explosion occurred in the LNG liquefaction and peak shaving plant of Gaz Metropolitan in Montreal East, Quebec. The accident occurred in the control room due to a back flow of natural gas from the compressor to the nitrogen line. 

• Staten Island Tank Fire, USA, 1973.  A fire erupted at an out-of-service LNG tank that was being repaired. Forty workers then inside the tank were killed. LNG, which had leaked through the liner during previous fillings, had accumulated in the soil below and around the concrete tank wall berm. It has been assumed that an electrical spark in one of the irons or vacuum cleaners ignited the flammable gas reentering the tank.

• Massachusetts Barge Spill, July 1974. After a power failure and the automatic closure of the main liquid line valves, a small amount of LNG leaked from a 1-inch nitrogen-purge globe valve on the vessel’s liquid header - pressure surge caused by the valve closure induced the leakage of LNG – caused another LNG accident

• Aquarius Spill, September 1977. Difficulties in the liquid level gauge system – caused another LNG accident

• Das Island, United Arab Emirates, March 1978. Failure of a bottom pipe connection of a LNG tank– caused another LNG accident

• Cove Point, Maryland, 1979. LNG leak from a high-pressure pump found its way into an electrical conduit – caused another LNG accident

• Mostafa Ben Bouliad Spill, April 1979. A check valve in the piping system of a 125,000 cubic meter vessel failed – caused another LNG accident

• Pollenger Spill, April 1979. Leaking from a valve gland – caused another LNG accident

• Bontang, Indonesia, 1983. Rupture of a heat exchanger in an LNG plant and resultant explosion – caused another LNG accident  

• Nevada Test Site, Mercury, NV, 1987. An accidental ignition of an LNG vapor cloud occurred at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nevada Test Site in August 1987.  

• Bachir Chihani, Hull Cracking, 1990. Inner hull fracture occurred in a 130,000 cubic meter vessel at a part of the ship’s structure that is prone to the high stresses that accompany the complex deflections that the hull encounters on the high seas – caused another LNG accident  

• Mediterranean Off Gibraltar, Minor LNG Carrier "Collision," November 13, 2002.  LNG carrier Norman Lady was struck off Gibraltar by the USS Oklahoma City, a Navy nuclear submarine. Minor damage to both vessels was caused by submarine periscope. The company said the vessel, had already unloaded its LNG cargo in Barcelona, Spain.

• Algeria, LNG Facility Explosion, January 19, 2004. LNG port facility designed to load only small LNG Tankers for short distances exploded; death toll: 27; workers injured:  74; blast felt miles away; facility destroyed; fires raged for 8 hours; property damage: approx. $ 1 Billion; cause: (initially believed: "defective boiler" which had earlier received "superficial repairs;"); insurance investigation determined cause: liquefied natural gas leak in pipe

• Trinidad Tobago, June 13, 2004. LNG turbine explodes, workers evacuated. Scores of workers had to be evacuated after a gas turbine at Atlantic LNG's Train 3 facility exploded.   Details Still Unfolding...

• Belgium, July 31, 2004. Fluxy's LNG gas pipeline explosion kills 15 in Belgium. It was the deadliest gas blast in Belgium since 1967, when a tanker truck carrying liquid gas blew up, killing 22 people. "Debris from the initial explosion was found up to four miles away" (BBC video)

• Norway, September 20, 2004.  LNG tanker adrift north of Bergen.  A fully loaded LNG tanker with a crew of 14 was adrift west of Fedje, on the west coast of Norway, north of Bergen. The ship's engines had stopped, and the anchors were useless in the stormy weather. Tug boats couldn't get the tanker under tow until the ship was only 30 yards from hitting rocks. There was strong wind and bad weather conditions in the area, and preparations were made to evacuate the 800 persons living on the island of Fedje, for fear that the tanker would explode if it grounded, NRK reports.

• USA, March 2005. LNG Causes Pipeline Leaks and house explosion. On July 7, 2005, a company-sponsored study, launched after a District Heights house exploded in late March, found that subtle molecular differences in the imported liquefied natural gas the utility began using in August 2003 were drying the rubber seals of aging metal couplings that link sections of pipe. The breakdown of seals in the couplings of gas pipelines led to about 1,400 gas leaks during the past two years, and has required the company to launch a $144 million project to replace lines and equipment. Two other house explosions in the area are now under investigation.

• Nigeria, August 2005.  28-inch Liquefied Natural Gas underground pipeline exploded - Wild inferno engulfed an estimated 27 square kilometers. Eleven persons are feared missing and aquatic life completely destroyed when a 28-inch Liquefied Natural Gas underground pipeline exploded at Kalakama, an Ogoloma fishing community in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State. The incident, which occurred at the weekend, resulted in a wild inferno which engulfed an estimated 27 square kilometers of the once rich Kalakama mangrove, killing sea foods and cash crops.So huge, the impact of the explosion was felt on the Okrika Island and the Borikiri area of Port Harcourt where, residents were forced into a stampede for safety. Nigeria LNG pipeline explosion

• India, September 17, 2005. Winds just over a mere 40 knots led to an accident at Petronet LNG Ltd's terminal at Dahej when the tug boats of LNG carrier "Disha" hit Dolphin Piles of the jetty. The LNG ship was casting off after unloading the cargo. Petronet LNG Ltd’s is evaluating the extent of damage. Mishap at Dahej LNG unit, supply hit

• Savannah, GA   March 14, 2006. A potentially disastrous spill was averted early Tuesday morning when the liquefied natural gas tanker Golar Freeze discharging its load at the Southern LNG terminal on Elba Island broke from its moorings and pulled away from the pier. The dock was shut down for about 36 hours while representatives from the Coast Guard and an LNG engineer from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission investigated the incident. Near-miss shuts down LNG imports on Elba

• Trinidad & Tobago   May 18 & May 21 & June 6, 2006. Fire at LNG Plant - "YET another blowout has occurred at Atlantic LNG in Point Fortin. On Tuesday fire broke out at the base of a Flame Pole when a seal broke loose. The incident which occurred around 8.30 pm, did not result in any injuries to employees or damage to the plant. According to a report from the Point Fortin sub-fire station, the seal popped and fire shot out. An employee nearby alerted a safety officer who quickly extinguished the fire. On May 21, Atlantic LNG employees had to evacuate the plant after a plug blew out and struck an employee in the chest. Three days before that incident, Train 11 plant had to be shut down for six hours when a natural gas leak was discovered in a two-inch pipeline." FIRE AT LNG PLANT  Trinidad News, Trinidad and Tobago

• Ship carrying liquid gas burns off Jordan July 13, 2006.   "AMMAN, Jordan -- A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas caught fire as it unloaded Thursday in Aqaba, injuring 12 people, the manager of the Jordanian port said. Four of the injured were firefighters, who needed an hour to bring the blaze under control, said Awwad al-Maaytah, the director general of Aqaba Port Authority. The other injured were crewmen. The ship was promptly evacuated and towed away from the pier in the Red Sea port having unloaded only half of its cargo. Al-Maaytah said the cause of the fire was under investigation." Seattle Post Intelligencer. Jordan Liquid-Gas Ship Mishap Injures 19

• LNG Tanker Adrift Off Cape Cod Needs Rescue  February 11, 2008. Coast Guard and tugboat crews rescued  a liquefied natural gas tanker crippled off Cape Cod after many hours of drifting at sea at the mercy of powerful winds and high waves.  Just 5-years-old, the fully laden LNG carrier was corraled by four tugboats about 25 miles east of Provincetown. Apparently, about 3 a.m. Monday its propulsion system shut down because of a computer malfunction according to the Coast Guard. The 933-foot Spanish-flagged LNG tanker Catalunya Spirit was heading from Trinidad to the LNG facility in Everett. 2/15/08 After several days of troubleshooting, repair specialists determined a malfunctioning boiler feed pump, which supplies water to the main propulsion boilers, caused the Catalunya Spirit's loss of power and propulsion. Captain of the Port of Boston reviewed and approved the final repair certification presented by Lloyd's Register and Teekay Corporation. The LNG delivery through Boston Harbor was cancelled. 

BRUSH WITH DISASTER…  

Portland Press Herald

October 6, 2003

Vigilance attends LNG deliveries

 “Maritime accidents do occur. Just last year, the LNG carrier Norman Lady was struck off Gibraltar by the USS Oklahoma City, a Navy nuclear submarine. Damage to both vessels was minor.”

CNN.com

11/15/2002

https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/11/15/norway.tanker/

Nuclear sub 'collides' with tanker

 “OSLO, Norway -- The Norwegian owners of a tanker claim an unidentified object it collided with in the western Mediterranean was a U.S. nuclear submarine.

Shipping company Leif Hoegh said on Friday the hull of its tanker, the Norman Lady, was damaged in the incident two days ago.

The company said the vessel, which had just unloaded a cargo of explosive natural gas in Barcelona, Spain, struck a submerged object.

The collision took place at the same time and place as the U.S. Navy reported a collision between its Oklahoma City attack submarine and an unknown merchant vessel. ” 

LUCKY THAT TIME!

        Fortunately the LNG carrier had already unloaded its cargo  

        Fortunately only minor periscope contact damage occurred  

One of the Obvious Problems and Dangers with LNG Is That When One of the Many Things That Can Go Wrong  -  Does Go Wrong - The Results Can and Have Been Devastating, As If We Needed Anymore Tragic Proof.

1944                                                                                  2004

Help Us Stop Liquefied Natural Gas

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