Oilfield Safety a Concern as Energy Demands Rise

As worldwide oil consumption and demand spirals upward so to does the stress on U.S. oilfield workers to meet those demands, according to the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Permian Basin Chapter in Midland, Texas. New and inexperienced workers are filling an increased number of oilfield jobs, and that inexperience brings safety concerns. The ASSE reported that in the 63,000 square mile Lubbock, Texas, region alone, which includes the Permian Basin, far west Texas, Big Bend, Trans-Pecos and Abilene areas, 25 oilfield work-related deaths occurred in 2004, according to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA has cited two Texas/South Central region oil and gas operations this year for safety violations that led to a workers’ deaths: Big Dog Drilling of Midland, a subsidiary of Acme Energy Services Inc., and Patterson-UTI Drilling Co. of Snyder, Texas.

OSHA issued citations and proposed penalties totaling $100,500 against Big Dog Drilling following an investigation of a worker’s electrocution at a drilling location. OSHA said it began an investigation Sept. 2, 2004, in response to a fatal accident in which an employee was exposed to damaged energized cables. The agency has cited the company with one willful and five serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.

“Power cables running from the generator plant to the supervisor’s trailer were not protected from vehicles running over the cables and damaging them,” stated Richard F. Tapio OSHA area director in Lubbock. “The damaged cables became energized near a supervisor’s travel trailer, exposing an employee picking up trash around the trailer to electrical current. The investigation revealed that employees had been receiving shocks for several months.”

Patterson-UTI Drilling was cited and issued proposed penalties totaling $187,000 in response to a fatality that occurred at the company’s oilrig site in Hinton, Okla. Patterson-UTI Drilling employs about 5,800 workers and owns 361 land-based drilling rigs, according to OSHA.

The alleged willful violations include failing to secure the man basket to the forklift; to provide the proper training to operate a forklift; and to retrain employees when workplace conditions changed. The citations were issued for failure to remove a defective forklift from service, which resulted in the death of one worker and serious injury to another. Alleged repeat violations included failing to provide training for the safe use of powered industrial equipment and failing to provide certification for operating a forklift

OSHA said that in the past three years, 11 fatalities have occurred at Patterson-UTI Drilling’s various Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming rig sites. OSHA has cited the company with 17 safety violations and proposed penalties totaling $725,900.

Responding to the increased need for safety education and awareness the ASSE Permian Basin Chapter announced it is teaming up with local OSHA officials and the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission to increase safety for oilfield workers in the wake of increased demand for oil and gas. The groups will present a safety seminar in Odessa, Texas, in mid-September.

The ASSE Permian Basin Chapter along with Texas and New Mexico OSHA officials, the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, Cudd Pressure Control, Tuboscope, Chevron, Kinder Morgan and Patterson Drilling will hold a two-day seminar in Odessa, Sept. 14-15 titled, “Oilfield Safety on Drilling and Workover Rigs.”

According to ASSE Permian Basin Chapter President Carl Bailey, “The Permian Basin oilfield business is booming, yet we lack the skilled workers to fill many of those jobs. Our chapter is responding to the needs of the community by sharing members’ hands-on knowledge and experience in oilfield safety. With the demand for oil and gas at an all time high, we need to share this key safety and health information with toolpushers, rig supervisors, geologists and managers to increase oilfield safety now.”

The ASSE two-day seminar will include sessions on safety and health for rigging, safety programs, environmental and health controls, personal protective equipment, fall protection, confined spaces, fire prevention, welding on or near rigs, lock-out/tag-out — when on a rig, crane regulations, how weather affects safety, fleet safety, hydrogen sulfide dangers, rig-up procedures, rigging practices, emergency action plans, pumps and pressures and their dangers, electrical hazards, well control and more.