The end of December saw an industrial accident which resulted in disruption to production at the Brae Alpha oil rig in the North Sea, around 150 miles to the northeast of Aberdeen. Brae Alpha is just one of three offshore platforms in the Brae Area; the others are Brae Bravo and East Brae/Brae Forties pipelines.

News reports stated that the industrial accident was caused by a gas leak; it is claimed that the leak resulted in an explosion which in turn caused damaged to the platform. Witnesses told news outlets that the explosion sounded as if "a bomb had gone off".

Fortunately, the industrial accident did not result in any fires and workers were able to stay aboard the site to perform essential maintenance and repairs.

It is thought that disruption to supply is to help ensure that a proper investigation can be carried out into the incident.

The industrial accident heightens concerns stemming from an earlier health and safety improvement notice, served to operators Marathon Oil, in relation to breaches of pipeline safety regulations, with at least one pipe "operating beyond its design life", according to the Health and Safety Executive.

The owners have until April 30, 2016 to ensure compliance with the notice.

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