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Content: Pagemasters:
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Gulf of
Mexico Region Injuries – 1998 January 31, 1998 - Chevron U.S.A. Production Company
Remarks: An employee was searching for parts on a shelf when he placed his foot in front of a crate that was sitting on the floor. He moved the crate, causing the equipment to fall forward onto his foot. He sustained a fracture on top of his left foot. Corrective action: (1) initiate program for proper packaging/shipment of equipment, and (2) initiate program for proper storage of equipment once it goes out to the field. February 27, 1998 - OXY USA Inc.
Remarks: An A-Operator for Baker Energy at SP 75 slipped when he was climbing down a ladder from the crane, causing his right knee to strike the ladder, resulting in an injury to his knee. An investigation by Baker Energy revealed that the most probable cause for this incident was the wearing of rubber boots while climbing down the ladder. A contributing cause may have been not taking sufficient time to climb down the ladder. March 11, 1998 - Stone Energy Corporation
Remarks: The incident was caused by welding slag burning through polyflow tubing and contacting natural gas. The master panel was not covered with protective material and the panel door was open while an ignition source was in the area. March 12, 1998 - Chevron U.S.A. Production Company
Remarks: The failure of the guide wire padeye at the left upper mast extension or a failure of the turnbuckle pin on the same guide wire occurred. The padeyes on one side of the derrick board that were used for support were missing. March 20, 1998 - Union Pacific Resources Company
Remarks: Gas fumes contacted a flaming torch. The gas being used to operate a starter and the exhaust fumes were not piped to a safe area. March 23, 1998 - Mobil E&P U.S. Development Corporation
Remarks: The injury was a back sprain caused by overexertion. The employee did this when drums were being moved off a drum rack. The employee manhandled drums into position in order to put downstairs with the crane. In a small area, he again manhandled drums and valves to put them on a dolly to move around on deck. The overexertion caused a back sprain. March 31, 1998 - Exxon Corporation
Remarks: The Ensco 86 rig was in the process of tripping pipe at approximately 11:30 a.m. on March 31, 1998, when an accident occurred on the rig floor. The injured crewman was part of the rig crew. The automatic pipe spinner would not spin the pipe properly because of the chain in the pipe spinner hanging up. Apparently, in an attempt to correct the problem with the hung up pipe spinner, the crewman was injured when the pipe spinner chain caught his glove and pulled his left hand into the pipe spinner. April 19, 1998 - Amoco Production Company
Remarks: The injury was a result of the employee using his hand instead of an instrument to guide the cable. April 28, 1998 - Amoco Production Company
Remarks: Failure to observe warning/caution tape. 4x6 feet opening in the grating. May 11, 1998 - Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing SE, Inc.
Remarks: An employee helped carry a pump stand weighing approximately 150 lbs from the A side of the platform to the CF side. He later noticed a knot near his navel. Injury diagnosed as an umbilical hernia due to overexertion. May 13, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
Remarks: An employee was taking off a tree connection while he was standing on a stepladder. The 36" wrench he was using slipped, causing him to fall. The injury was diagnosed as a fractured left wrist. May 14, 1998 - Seneca Resources Corporation
Remarks: Subject was taken to hospital in Galveston for treatment to his back and ribs. May 21, 1998 - Oryx Energy Company
Remarks: Pressure below the manumatic valve released abruptly, forcing the perforating gun to the top of the lubricator. The gun firing head was activated either by pressure from the wellbore and/or upon impact into the top of the lubricator. Cardinal Services' written step-by-step safety procedures were apparently not followed. May 24, 1998 - Enron Oil & Gas Company
Remarks: After degreasing the sump with water, an employee started cutting the 2" line on the bottom of the sump to drain water from the vessel. After cutting about half of the pipe to be removed, he ran out of oxygen. He then replaced the oxygen bottle and started to cut the remainder of the pipe when it flashed, causing 2nd-degree burns to his face and head. The employee was then transferred by helicopter to a Victoria hospital. May 24, 1998 - Pioneer Natural Resources (GPC) Inc.
Remarks: The probable cause of this accident was the employee's lack of a proper work platform and the employee not securing himself to a hook point. The employee was wearing a safety harness; however, in this incident he did not attach himself to a hook point. The "Job Safety Advisor" should have identified the fall possibility. A platform should have been available for the workman to stand on one that did not have holes in it large enough for a man to fall through. Also, the workman himself should have taken the time to hook himself to a hook point, since he was wearing a safety harness. During the incident the employee was being observed by a supervisor and the supervisor did not instruct him to hook himself to a hook point. May 30, 1998 - Walter Oil & Gas Company
Remarks: While removing the slings from the hook on a starboard crane, an employee bent down after removing the sling to pick up another set of slings. While he was not facing the block, it swung toward him, striking him in the back of the head. June 01, 1998 - Shell Offshore Inc.
Remarks: While the employee was breaking loose the lifting sub from monel, he was struck by the pry bar while holding the chain tong in place. The employee sustained a possible fracture of his right finger. June 02, 1998 - Amoco Production Company
Remarks: Three Sundowner crew members were positioned on the rig crane power pack unit, removing the four holding pins. Other Sundowner crew members were in the process of laying the rig crane gantry section onto the platform top deck with the platform crane. Upon completion of laying down the gantry section, the crew prepared to hook the platform crane onto the rig crane power pack unit. The three crew members on the rig crane power pack unit removed the pins prematurely before the lifting slings were attached to the power pack unit. Once the pins were removed, the unsecured power pack unit tilted, rolled, and fell off the substructure approximately 28 feet to the platform’s top deck. The three personnel positioned on the power pack unit sustained severe injuries, and one was thrown from the platform into the Gulf. Another crew member sustained major injuries. The body of the person thrown overboard was recovered on June 16, 1998, in the Grand Isle Block 64 area. June 08, 1998 - Samedan Oil Corporation
Remarks: The harness safety line was not secured to an anchor point. The safety harness in use at the time of the accident required the user to detach from the anchor point to move beyond the limits of the safety line. A retractable safety line device block was available, but not in position for use. Such a device, used properly, would preclude the need to detach the safety line for long moves. The opening in the deck next to the BOP stack was not necessary for the work being performed. A covering for the opening should have been in place. Only one side of the BOP stack had an opening in the deck. The employee could have descended on the side of the BOP stack with no opening in the deck. June 18, 1998 - Samedan Oil Corporation
Remarks: A rig welder was cutting 14" angle iron on the rig substructure during rigging down operations when the 14" angle iron broke loose and struck him in the face. The company plans on conducting joint site assessments on projects in the future, with better communications and planning. June 18, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
Remarks: The rig drill floor crew was not using the correct procedure to break out the stand of drill pipe from the top drive and the rotary table. The bottom tool joint of the stand of drill pipe should have been broken out at the rotary table on the drill floor first. The top tool joint of the stand of drill pipe should have been broken out at the top drive once the bottom tool joint was successfully broken. The driller did not have a clear vision of the top of the drill pipe stand being broken out of the top drive in the derrick. He was using a camera to observe this procedure. June 19, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
Remarks: A contract employee smashed his finger between an acetylene bottle cap and a handrail while trying to move the bottle. The injury required stitches. June 20, 1998 – Phillips Oil Company
Remarks: While lifting a load, the tagline wrapped around the left leg of a worker. The crane operator lifted the load, pulling the worker up 15-20 feet off the deck of the workboat until the tagline broke. The worker landed on his back on top of a basket. He was transported to the hospital and was later released back to work (light duty). June 27, 1998 - Sonat Exploration GOM Inc.
Remarks: During heavy thunderstorms, a diesel generator began surging. The operator went to start a gas generator and during the startup a flash fire occurred. This resulted in the operator receiving 1st-degree burns. The probable cause of the accident was a design defect in the control circuit, which would allow the starter transformer to remain engaged indefinitely if a current-sensing relay was not satisfied. A contributing cause of the accident was the wrong setting being used on a current-sensing relay. This relay was in place to keep the starter transformer engaged until the motor current fell below the relay setting. This relay was set below the normal current rate; thus, it never released the transformer. July 07, 1998 - Bois d'Arc Offshore Ltd.
Remarks: A wireline crew was picking up the lubricator to the second rung. As they were picking it up by hand, the wireline operator's hand was caught between the rail and lubricator, causing the lubricator to slip and fall on the co-worker’s foot. There were no broken bones, but his foot was badly bruised. July 13, 1998 - Newfield Exploration Company
Remarks: A deckhand aboard M/V transporter sustained serious injury to both legs as he was tying off the vessel onto the platform. Two personnel who had just exited the vessel onto the platform heard the employee screaming. Responding to the scream, they found him on the M/V, deck with his right foot severed at the ankle and his left leg severed at the knee. It is believed that he became entangled in the tie-up rope as the rope was pulled taut by vessel maneuvering. Immediate first aid/tourniquets were applied, and he was airlifted to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, arriving at 1447 hours. All efforts were taken to preserve the severed limbs and to possibly reattach them. They were unsuccessful. July 16, 1998 - Elf Exploration, Inc.
Remarks: An Era Boelkow ship (contracted to Elf) was experiencing mechanical problems and safely landed on Shell's unmanned ST 301 B platform. Era dispatched two mechanics to the site to work on the helicopter. During testing of the repairs, the pilot throttled up and the ship lifted off the helideck and crashed on the main deck (wooden well bay cover). One mechanic went to the pilot's aid and the other went to call for assistance. When the mechanic who made the call returned to the helicopter, he realized the other mechanic had had a heart attack. Attempts to revive the mechanic were unsuccessful. The pilot received a head laceration and injuries to his back. The pilot was airlifted to shore at 3:00 p.m. * This fatality was not included in the total count because it was a heart attack from natural causes. July 17, 1998 - Ocean Energy, Inc.
Remarks: Nabor's Drilling was in the process of rigging-up Nabor's Rig 269 on the platform when the accident occurred. They had completed rigging-up the substructure and were skidding the substructure in preparation for lifting the derrick. The substructure failed catastrophically and the rig substructure separated. Part of the package toppled off the platform to the barge, and another part toppled to the seafloor. There were 3 fatalities, 1 serious injury, and 12 other injuries. July 20, 1998 - Shell Offshore Inc.
Remarks: A contract painter was preparing a column top for painting. The employee bent over to pick up a piece of trash. Upon retrieving the trash, the employee straightened up and struck his head and shoulder against a low I-beam that was above him during the job. The employee finished the day's work and reported a hurt back the next day. July 27, 1998 - Chevron U.S.A. Production Company
Remarks: An employee was attempting to stand a 55-gallon drum (with about 45-50 gallons inside) up on end and felt a muscle pull in his back. August 01, 1998 - Exxon Company, U.S.A.
Remarks: While tubing was being picked up from the pipe rack, a tubing collar hung up in the spring of the lift cylinder of the tongs. When the driller noticed it, he slammed on the brake, causing the tubing to come free (remained latched in elevators). The tubing began to bounce on the pipe rack and struck a contractor in the forehead, knocking him down. He was hospitalized Aug. 1-3. August 18, 1998 - Walter Oil & Gas Corporation
Remarks: The employee was closing the valve on the supply line and was bleeding the line down when he received burns to the hands, arms, and face. August 30, 1998 - Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Remarks: The injured was operating a crane when he stepped backward and flipped over the handrail, striking his back on a beam and then the grating. August 31, 1998 - Amoco Production Company
Remarks: While evacuating the facility because of a hurricane, the injured jumped on the boat bumper and pulled himself over the bulwark. His right foot landed on the deck and slipped, which caused him to twist his knee. September 12, 1998 – Callon Petroleum Company
Remarks: A worker was attempting to lift a deck hatch when the hatch fell, smashing three fingers. The hatch counterweight cable came out of the guide sleeve, releasing the hatch which fell on the worker’s hand. September 13, 1998 - Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Remarks: The brake bleed lines to the four motor brake assemblies were tied into the hydraulic fluid return line from the cart function on the elevator. The return line for the cart function contained a manual valve, which had been closed. When hydraulic power was supplied to the system after repairs were made to the cart, the closed valve caused pressure to be fed back through the bleed lines, which released the brakes. When the hydraulic power was shut down a second time to troubleshoot the cart further, the brakes could not bleed back and remained released, causing the elevator to fall. There was no fail-safe backup to the brake system. September 14, 1998 - Equitable Resources Energy Company
Remarks: A mudlogger was dropping a rope down from top of a cantilever beam to pull up a purge hose. The employee slipped and fell approximately 13-14 feet into a Halliburton tool basket. September 16, 1998 - Nippon Oil Exploration U.S.A. Limited
Remarks: An employee was tracing lines out from the high-pressure separator and was walking in the direction of the master panel and fell off a 12-inch skid, breaking his hip. October 06, 1998 - ENSERCH Corporation
Remarks: The latch, that secures the door on the lower pipe clamp had not been fully seated prior to the pipe connection being loosened. The breakout force applied to the pipe to loosen the connection caused the latch to come loose suddenly and caused the door to swing open suddenly. The person whose job was to close the clamp latch did not check to see if the latch was fully seated. The latch holds the door closed on the pipe clamp and has a spring action design. The spring is designed to promote full engagement of the latch with the door. This inspector operated the latch involved in the accident and noticed that the spring strength seemed weak when compared with a similar latch on the same make and model iron roughneck on a different drilling rig. The levers operating the iron roughneck are too close to the swing path of the two clamp doors. October 09, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
Remarks: : A radio tech was standing on an 8-ft ladder adjusting the Primestar satellite dish. As he attempted to remove the dish, the wind caught the dish and blew the tech off the ladder and onto a walkway. His knee "popped." The knee was immobilized and ice applied. October 10, 1998 - EEX Corporation
Remarks: Normal completion operations were being conducted when the completion fluid U-tubed and splashed on two floorhands. Both were wearing safety glasses but no goggles. October1 4, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
Remarks: An employee was tightening a 2" piece of threaded pipe. The wrench slipped and he fell back to the deck, twisting his left knee. Employee missed several days of work before being placed on light duty. October 24, 1998 - Vastar Resources, Inc.
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