Esso's Longford gas plant exploded — a restart done without a risk assessment

On September 25, 1998, the Esso Longford gas processing plant in Victoria, Australia, exploded during a cold restart of a gas fractionation unit. The explosion killed two workers and injured eight. The plant supplied the majority of Victoria's natural gas, and the shutdown left homes and businesses without gas for weeks during the approach of winter.

The investigation found that the restart was conducted without a proper hazard assessment. A cold liquid slug entered a heat exchanger that was not designed for the thermal shock, causing it to fracture and release a flammable gas cloud that ignited. The operators had not been trained for the specific restart procedure, and the plant's management had not required a formal risk assessment for the operation.

The Royal Commission found that Esso's safety culture had deteriorated after cost-cutting and staff reductions in the 1990s. In 2001 Esso was fined A$2 million — then the largest occupational safety penalty in Australian history. The case illustrated how cost-cutting can erode the institutional knowledge and safety procedures that prevent routine operations from becoming catastrophes.