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Gulf
of Mexico Region Other Events - 2003 (12 total) January 2, 2003 – Marathon Oil Company
Remarks: A cargo box was being removed from the southwest landing next to the warehouse. As the box was being lifted, the box snagged a handrail and lifted it out of its sockets. The handrail (51 in. x 65 in.) was lost overboard. February 3, 2003 – Union Oil Company of California
Remarks: The snubbing unit was in the process of killing well 30 prior to a fishing operation when the unit mast assembly toppled over. The ESD was activated from the lift boat upon collapse shutting in the well with the SSV. The snubbing unit mast assembly was anchored by 8 cables on a four point mooring: 2 dual sets of guy wires were attached to the lift boat, a third dual set of guy wires was attached to a cluster of pilings, and a fourth dual set (temporary) of guy wires was anchored to the sea floor with two 4,000 lb. cement anchors. Prior to the incident, a work boat (drawing 8’ of water) had been station keeping in strong currents on the starboard side of the lift boat for 90 minutes approximately 10 feet from the forth set of guy wires and the two cement anchors. When the work boat repositioned to the port side of the lift boat, the mast assembly toppled. Earlier, while the M/V was station keeping on the starboard side of the lift boat, turbulence from the propeller wheel washed out the unconsolidated sediments at the base of the anchors, dislodging the anchors and allowing slack in the temporary guy wires. The remaining taut guy wires were unable to handle the load and the snubbing unit shifted back past vertical and toppled. Subsequent investigation determined that the mooring system design and the weight of the temporary anchors were inadequate for the unstable seafloor conditions at the site. Contributory causes were the utilization of an 8 ft. draft M/V in 8-9 feet of water, station keeping the M/V with propeller thrust in close proximity to the lift boat, and operating the M/V for an extended period of time near the temporary anchors. There were no injuries, pollution or fatalities as a result of the incident. Damage to the snubbing unit, lift boat, and M/V is estimated at $150,000. April 24, 2003 – Helis Oil & Gas Corporation
Remarks: While load testing the pedestal crane, the boom fell striking the platform. At the time of the incident, the 100 ft. crane lattice boom was positioned at 55 degree and load tested at 16,540 pounds utilizing a dynamometer. The rigging tackle used in the test was in safe operable condition and the rigging was completed in a proper manner. The apparent cause of the incident is presumed to be the failure of the steel wedge that secured the boom line (5/8 inch cable) on the dead end side of the boom hoist. The steel wedge apparently released the cable attached to the boom gantry through the Beckett socket. The Beckett socket fitting indicated severe scarring inside the socket from the cable pulling through the socket; however, the steel wedge could not be located and inspected. There were no injuries and no pollution from the incident. Damage is estimated at $85,000. May 7, 2003 – Hunt Petroleum (AEC), Inc.
Remarks: While lifting a diesel fuel tank from the boat, the drain pipe got caught on a binding chain which was securing a load and broke the weld. Approximately 20 gallons of diesel leaked into the water as the operator lifted the tank up to the platform containment area. May 9, 2003 – Energy Partners, Ltd.
Remarks: The starboard crane was loading a 25 barrel tank from a supply vessel. The crane was positioned at 40 degrees. Slings were hooked to the 25 barrel tank containing 17.5 ppg Zinc Bromide. The crane operator picked up the load and let off the engine throttle to engage the boom to the “up” position. When the operator engaged the throttle again, the load began slacking off. The operator, sensing what was happening, increased the engine RPM’s. The load had gained too much downward momentum for the crane’s clutch to overcome and it landed on the boat deck on its side. The boom continued it’s decent until it contacted the deck. Zinc Bromide began leaking out of the tank vent onto the deck and 13 BBL spilled overboard producing a rainbow sheen in the water. Later, the crane operator righted the tank which stopped the pollution. The crane was inspected and found to be in good working order. Damage to the supply boat and crane boom is estimated at $198,620. Probable cause of the incident was the failure of the crane operator to maintain sufficient RPM’s on the crane to counteract the torque applied to the torque converter from the load and boom weight. When this occurred, the load started reversing down. When the operator re-engaged the throttle, the engine was unable to keep the load from reversing down. The operator also failed to engage the boom dog which would have prevented the boom from lowering. June 25, 2003 – El Paso Production GOM Inc.
Remarks: A rental crane was being used to offload a cylinder for the fixed crane at the facility. At the time the riggers were hooking the load to the block, the boat’s starboard engine overheated and shut down causing a momentary loss of control of the movement of the boat. The load snagged the back of the boat as the boat was pulling out from under the load. The boat continued to pull the cable from the rental crane causing the boom to bend and the cable to snap. June 25, 2003 – Ocean Energy, Inc.
Remarks: Two anchor lines broke at the drums on the rig. The rig was experiencing a 2+ knot current for approximately 28 days. Drilling operations had been suspended due to currents. The drill pipe was hung off in the number 3 rams due to BOP testing. The drill pipe was sheared, the stub was picked up above the LMRP connector, and the upper annular was closed on the LMRP trapping the riser full of mud. The LMRP was then disconnected. At this time, they are mobilizing boats and equipment to recover the damaged mooring lines and install new mooring lines. July 8, 2003 – Samedan Oil Corporation
Remarks: A Eurocopter EC120B single engine helicopter was substantially damaged when it collided with a parked helicopter on the helideck forcing the pilot to execute a water landing. There were no injuries or fatalities. The NTSB cited the pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with the parked/stationary aircraft as the probable cause (see NTSB factual and probable cause reports). August 3, 2003 – Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation
Remarks: Operations to move the rig off location were underway. During a heavy lift, a piece of the substructure (shaker deck) was dropped onto compressor No. 1. Preliminary indications suggest a crane failure. The facility was shut in during the lift and is still shut in until a safe method for removing the substructure is determined.November 2, 2003 – Chevron Texaco Corporation
Remarks: While offloading 2 casing joints, the crane operator felt a hard jolt and the crane tilted forward. When the crane stopped moving, the operator locked down the crane and exited. The casing fell back onto the boat. There were no injuries and damage to the guard rail on the boat was minor. November 16, 2003 – Energy Partners, Ltd.
Remarks: A Bell 407 single engine helicopter was substantially damaged after it lost power during take off, landed in the water, and sank. Prior to impacting the water, the helicopter narrowly avoided hitting the platform. There were no injuries or fatalities resulting from the accident. The NTSB filed a preliminary report and is continuing to investigate. December 29, 2003 – Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Remarks: The gas release resulted from the VRU shutting down. Subsequently, pressure started building up in the low pressure vent system and the flare valve did not open at the normal 2 psig setting. The pressure continued to rise and neither PSV No.1 or No. 2 activated quickly enough to relieve the over pressure as designed, before compromising the liquid seal in the sour water sump P-trap. This ultimately led to the escape of the H2S gas into the drains in the containment skids of the VRU and oil stripping towers, setting off the H2S sensor in the area of the production deck. [Assets/Include/bottomnav.htm]
Last Updated:
10/19/09,
11:52 AM |
