The Buncefield Oil Depot Disaster – 2005 Jeremy Evans Director, JECCS Ltd & Ex-Head of Legal...
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Transcript of The Buncefield Oil Depot Disaster – 2005 Jeremy Evans Director, JECCS Ltd & Ex-Head of Legal...
Managing in a CrisisThe Buncefield Oil Depot Disaster – 2005
Jeremy EvansDirector, JECCS Ltd
& Ex-Head of Legal
Northgate Information Solutions
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
ITV Footage
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterWhat was the cause?
6.00am, 11 December 2005 – series of explosions 2.4 on the Richter scaleWas it terrorists? 7/7 and 21/7 earlier that year……no – human error/negligence leading to igniting of a
vapour cloud Resulting fire – largest in Europe since WWII
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterSignificant impact
Severe damage to the storage depot & one of UK oil pipelines
Some transport links affected for a period of timePrivate property damage over a wide areaNational businesses lost officesNorthgate lost its HQ and primary data centre – no IT
systems working Six years of litigation between claimants & oil companies…
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster…and
Then there was the “ripple effect”Northgate was responsible for the processing of approx.
40% of UK company payrolls; and The provision of critical services to UK emergency
services 2 weeks to Christmas…”Houston, we have a problem…”
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield Disaster
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterImmediate challenges – a flavour:
Injuries or worse Securing the site – looters at work Activating the DR facility – starting
the task of restoring service to customers
Initial communication to customers – “force majeure”
Communication with stakeholders, staff and outside agencies
Longer-term challenges – a flavour:
Re-housing 500 displaced HQ staff: Temporary Long-term
Insurance claim Dealing with customers and their
claims Was Northgate negligent in having
its HQ so close to the depot? On-going communication during
the recovery process
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterBusiness Continuity/Disaster Recovery:
Corporate requirement to have BC and DR plansSome companies will carry out a “live test” of their plan but
only against a pre-determined set of circumstances Others may choose to undertake a “walk-through” of their DR
plans as Northgate did in the weeks prior to BuncefieldThe main limitation is that people tend to go through such
exercises believing it will never happen to themConsequently, the impact on property damage and potential
loss of life can be grossly under-estimated
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterBusiness Continuity/Disaster Recovery (cont.):
Despite the close proximity of the depot (it could be seen from the Northgate staff canteen):Assumptions were made that the facility was well-managed,
safe and secure The depot was operated on a joint venture basis between
Total and Chevron, two respected international organisationsHSE (and its forerunners) had approved extensions to the
depot in what was a busy and well-populated areaWhat could possibly go wrong?
Managing in a Crisis - The Buncefield DisasterConclusions:
Think the worst outcome – loss of life, etc. Incorporate “shadow teams” into DR planning for each
locationTest the plan realistically – walk-throughs are theoreticalFinally – two short anecdotes to close