Worker Burned by Propane Fire

Description of Incident:

• A propane truck arrived at camp to refill the propane tanks that were mounted on the ends of two trailers, one being a spare sleeper and the other a recreation trailer, both were separate from the camp complex. The propane tanks that were mounted on the trailers were positioned facing each other.
• The worker filled the tanks on the spare sleeper trailer without incident but the worker noticed an odd smell, moments after starting to fill the recreation trailer.
• He saw sparks coming from his steel braided hose, which was hooked to propane tank on the recreation trailer and laid across the skid on the sleeper trailer. There was then an immediate fire and the Driver received minor burns to his face. The driver then ran and shut off the propane flow at the truck, got into the cab, and backed the truck away from the fire. The camp crew and water hauler extinguished fire.

Workers Hand Caught Between the Sheave and the Deadline

Description of Incident:

• A drilling crew was tripping out of the hole to retrieve a core barrel. They had just pulled two pipe and stopped for a flow check.
• The crew, continued to pull the core barrel. The third pipe was racked back; the derrick hand leaned forward against his positioning lanyard and grabbed the deadline to stabilize the blocks from swinging. The elevators were latched onto pipe #4 and the driller began to hoist.
• The driller looked up to make sure everything was clear and then looked back at the weight indicator. The floor hands were getting the rotary tongs and slips ready. The driller was hoisting in 2nd gear, between ½ - ¾ throttle, so as not to dislodge the core.
• The derrick hand's hand became caught, between the sheave and the deadline. He yelled to the driller to stop. The blocks were lowered and he was able to remove his hand and climb down to the floor unassisted.
• The driller helped him remove his fall arrest harness and the crew performed first aid. Medics responded and the worker was transported to hospital for surgery. He lost a portion of three fingers on his right hand..

Workers Hand Caught Between Shank Blocks

Description of Incident:

• While raising the derrick during rigging up, the top section was scoped up in to position and pinned. The blocks were lowered to the rig floor to remove the scoping lines and cradle from the hook.
• The Floorhand and Motorhand were trying to open the latch arm of the hook to remove the cradle but the latch arm would not stay open. The Driller went to assist the workers open the latch arm. He positioned himself at the backside of the blocks and placed his left hand on top of the backside of the hook in the shank travel area.
  Not realizing that the hook was in the open/loaded position; the Driller used his right hand to assist with pushing the hook latch open, when the shank came free of the obstruction it slammed shut crushing his left thumb.

Worker Fatally Injured During Pumpjack Maintenance

Description of Incident:

• While completing maintenance on a pumpjack, a contractor was killed when the arm of the counter weights struck the worker on the side of the head.
• A contract oilfield maintenance company was hired by the operator to install insulation around the pumpjack header system and fuel gas line. The insulation was to be installed on the piping prior to winter freezing.
• The fuel gas line that was to be insulated was positioned below the pumpjack base. The pumpjack was elevated above ground level due to ground elevation issues and wellhead placement.
• During the installation, the worker entered the danger zone and was struck on the head by the pumpjack counter weight arm.

Sour Gas Leak from Casing Line Failure

Description of Incident:

• Two contractors were in the process of obtaining pressure readings from the production casing tubing annulus, when a ¼ inch line off the casing failed and sour gas began leaking to the atmosphere. The break occurred between the valve and the connection to the casing, causing an uncontrolled flow of sour gas, until pumping equipment and kill fluid stopped the flow.
• Kill fluid was pumped down the tubing and the well was brought under control. The Operator and the ERCB deemed the release to be a Level 2 emergency because the well was in close proximity to the Queen Elizabeth Highway 2, as well as some residential and commercial properties.
• Activation of Emergency Operations Centers in response to the incident was required. Notifications and updates were provided to all affected residents, commercial operators, regulatory and government officials.

Electric Heater Overheats Due to Static Build-up

Description of Incident:

A Ruffneck FX4 series electric/glycol heater in service in a treatment building experienced a static rupture of the heat exchanger core. No injuries or significant damage resulted from the event and the heater was returned to the manufacturer for analysis.

Overturn of a Freestanding Mobile Double Service Rig

Description of Incident:

• On December 10th, 2009, a freestanding mobile double service rig was erected with the catwalk in the incorrect position preventing the drillers side tubing board guy wire from being secured
• The off drillers side tubing guy wire could not be tightened to required tension.
• The Rig commenced work in an unstable environment.
• On December 14th, 2009, 113 stands of 3.5" tubing were evenly racked; 15 stands of 4.75" Drill Collars, 10 stands racked on the drillers side and 5 stands racked on the off-drillers side.
• A single or combination of triggers, such as wind on the racked tubing, un-even racked drill collars in the tubing board, ice heave or shift in soil, potentially created a twist in the structure.
• With the tubing board guy wires not installed and pre-tensioned, the mast stem carried the twist through the tubing board lugs.
• The rig overturned fatally injuring a worker.

Workers Hand Partially Amputated From Contact With Fan Blade 

Description of Incident:

• A maintenance worker was performing routine housekeeping activities in a generator building. As the worker was cleaning the building walls, he noticed a small amount of oil below the generator fan guard.
• The worker folded a small rag and attempted to clean the area, while the generator was running. A small opening on the fan guard, which allows for removal of the guarding during servicing, allowed the rotating fan blades to grab the rag, which pulled the workers hand into fan blades.
• This resulted in a partial amputation of the workers hand.

Drilling Rig Proportional Brake Fails

Description of Incident:

• A rig crew was drilling down a triple stand of drill pipe. When there was 2 meters left of the stand to drill, the top drive started to stall out at 6000 ft/lbs of torque, but the limit was set at 17 000 ft/lbs.
• The VFD computer screen in the doghouse was reading a communication issue. The Motorman and Floorhand began to check the PLC cables in the doghouse for the top drive for damaged lines or loose connections. The driller went up on the man-riding winch to check the PLC cables on the top drive.
• Once into position to look at the cables, the drill console lost power and the top drive crept down 1 meter, then free fell 1 meter until the elevators struck the floor. The draw works continued to un-spool the drill line. When all the drill line unspooled from the drum, it parted from the anchor and became wedged in the line spooler. This prevented the drill line from going to the crown.

Truck Operator Trapped in Vacuum Truck Tank

Description of Incident:

• An operator of a vacuum truck noticed a rock lodged between the agitator paddle and the wall of the tank making it inoperable.
• The operator opened the rear door and tried to engage the safety latch mechanism, to keep the door in the open position. The operator could not get this safety latch to work properly but elected to stand on the bumper with the door opened about 2-3 ft while attempting to dislodge the rock with a shovel.
• While he was striking the rock with the shovel, the door (approx. 2000 lbs) began slowly closing because of the hydraulic ram.  To prevent crushing of his legs, the operator jumped in to the tank. He was able to wedge a shovel in the door seal to prevent it from completely closing.
• A Construction project was taking place on the same site but no one knew what the driver was doing. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, a Construction Supervisor came to the vacuum truck and noticed there was no operator around the truck. He walked around the back of the truck and heard the operator calling for help. He spoke to the operator and was instructed how to open the door. The operator incurred no injuries.