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Pryor Trust Well: Industry Address To Lessons Learned & The Process Safety Push Into Land Oil & Gas Operations

1) A blowout and fire occurred at a gas well in Oklahoma operated by Red Mountain Energy, killing 5 workers. 2) The incident began when drilling operations were stopped to change the drill bit and the drill pipe was being removed from the wellbore. Mud and gas then blew out of the well, igniting a large fire. 3) The CSB investigation found issues with barrier management, lack of safety procedures and planning for underbalanced operations, inadequate response to signs of an influx, and an inability to close the blowout preventer due to burned hydraulic lines. 4) There are currently no specific federal regulations governing safety for onshore oil and gas drilling operations, despite OSHA recognizing

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180 views

Pryor Trust Well: Industry Address To Lessons Learned & The Process Safety Push Into Land Oil & Gas Operations

1) A blowout and fire occurred at a gas well in Oklahoma operated by Red Mountain Energy, killing 5 workers. 2) The incident began when drilling operations were stopped to change the drill bit and the drill pipe was being removed from the wellbore. Mud and gas then blew out of the well, igniting a large fire. 3) The CSB investigation found issues with barrier management, lack of safety procedures and planning for underbalanced operations, inadequate response to signs of an influx, and an inability to close the blowout preventer due to burned hydraulic lines. 4) There are currently no specific federal regulations governing safety for onshore oil and gas drilling operations, despite OSHA recognizing

Uploaded by

Ivan Flores Almaraz
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pryor Trust Well

Industry Address to Lessons Learned &


the Process Safety Push Into Land Oil
& Gas Operations
The Scenario

On January 22, 2018, a blowout and fire occurred killing five


people at Pryor Trust 0718 gas well number 1H-9, located in
Pittsburg County, Oklahoma

Red Mountain Energy, LLC was the lease holder, and Red
Mountain Operating, LLC (RMO) was the operator of the well.

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC (Patterson) was


the drilling contractor, hired by RMO.
What Happened?

Well 1H-9 was a lateral


well with a planned true
vertical depth (TVD) of
7,615 feet and a planned
measured depth (MD) of
17,799 feet.

Well 1H-9 targeted and


was drilled through the
Woodford formation.
Timeline

At 3:36 pm on January 21, 2018, the Patterson drilling crew


stopped drilling (drill bit depth at 13,435 feet MD) so that
they could remove the drill pipe from the wellbore to change
the drill bit.

Removing drill pipe from a wellbore is called “tripping.”

The tripping operation began at 6:48 pm.


Timeline

At 8:36 am, after the bottom hole assembly was removed


from the wellbore, mud blew upwards out of the well.

The motor man and a floor hand, who were on the rig
floor, entered the driller’s shack.

The gas and oil-based mud from the well subsequently


ignited creating a large fire.
Timeline

It is unknown at this point if the driller attempted to activate


the controls to close the blowout preventer after the blowout
began.

Shortly after the blowout began, at least two personnel


reportedly attempted to operate the accumulator that
functions the blowout preventer.

The blowout preventer blind rams did not fully close.


Timeline

A team of Boots & Coots


responders (a well control
services company) and RMO
personnel manually closed the
blowout preventer blind rams to
shut in the well at about 4:00
pm on January 22, 2018.

Shutting in the well stopped the


fire.
Outcome

All five personnel who were in the driller’s


shack or ran into the driller’s shack during
the blowout and fire were killed.

Those personnel included the Company


Man (contracted by RMO), directional
driller (Skyline Directional Drilling), driller
(Patterson), floorhand (Patterson), and
motor man (Patterson).
CSB Key Issues

Poor Barrier Management Flow Checks Not Conducted

Underbalanced Operations Gaps in Safety Management System


Performed Without Proper Planning,
Procedures, or Needed Equipment
Driller’s Cabin Design

Signs of Influx Either Not Identified


or Inadequately Responded To BOP Could Not Close Due to
Burned Hydraulic Hoses

Alarm System Off


CSB Key Issues

“Lack of
Safety
Requirements
by Regulation”
CSB Regulatory Analysis

Lack of Federal Oversight of Onshore Drilling

CSB determined that there are minimal regulations governing the


safety of onshore oil and gas drilling operations.

The OSHA PSM standard does not apply to drilling, no separate


OSHA standard covers drilling, and no other federal regulatory
body oversees the safety of onshore drilling operations.
CSB Regulatory Analysis

Lack of Federal Oversight of Onshore Drilling

Historically, OSHA has long been interested in regulating oil and gas
drilling and servicing operations. OSHA recognized the industry as
having the potential need for specialized regulation because the oil
and gas drilling and servicing industry “has some safety problems
which are unique, and some which are common to all workplaces.”
CSB Regulatory Analysis

Lack of Federal Oversight of Onshore Drilling

Specifically, OSHA observed the unique and numerous dangers


presented by oil and gas drilling operations to workers.

These dangers are self-evident and include hazards related to


blowouts based on the pressures at which hydrocarbon reserves are
sometimes found, fires and explosions, dropped objects, crush
injuries, falls from heights,
CSB Regulatory Analysis

Lack of Federal Oversight of Onshore Drilling

dangers associated with rotary equipment, transportation-


related accidents, slip and trip injuries, and myriad other
hazards present at a typical drilling site.
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

1973 - OSHA attempted to regulate the industry under its


Construction Safety Standard, found at Title 29 Code of
Federal Regulations Part 1926

Late 1970~Early 1980 - through the Occupational Safety and


Health Review Commission (OSHRC) found that Construction
Standards did not apply, and OSHA shifted to the General
Industry Standards of 29 CFR 1910
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

Based on BLS data, OSHA discovered that the industry had a


number of special safety and health problems demonstrated
by a higher-than-average injury and illness incidence rate
compared to employers covered by the general industry
standards.
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

OSHA then determined that the general industry standards


inadequately addressed unique hazards related to drilling and
servicing
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

Significantly, the agency also claimed that applying the


general industry standards possibly even contributed to the
higher injury and illness incidence rates in the absence of
specific regulatory coverage to guide the industry in a safer
direction.
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

At this point, OSHA resigned itself for a time to issuing


Section 5(a)(1) citations for general duty clause violations of
the OSH Act, which requires employers to provide a place of
employment “free from recognized hazards that are causing
or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his
employees.”
CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

Throughout the 1980’s to Present, OSHA and Industry has


attempted to develop an Oilfield Drilling Standar (and by
extension an Oilfield Services Standard) with input from
organizations like the IADC and AOSC (now the AESC) to
develop real and meaningful regulations that make sense for
the unique needs of this industry.

It didn’t work out…


CSB Regulatory Analysis

OSHA Timeline of Addressing Oilfield Safety

As of this date, there is no OSHA Drilling-specific Standard.

Now what?
Exemption from OSHA’s Process
Safety Management Standard
In 1992, OSHA enacted a new regulatory standard called
Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
(PSM). OSHA expressed about the standard:

Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and


gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been
reported for many years.

Incidents continue to occur in various industries that use highly


hazardous chemicals which may be toxic, reactive, flammable,
or explosive, or may exhibit a combination of these properties
Exemption from OSHA’s Process
Safety Management Standard
In 1992, OSHA enacted a new regulatory standard called
Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
(PSM). OSHA expressed about the standard:

Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous


chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time
they are not properly controlled…
Exemption from OSHA’s Process
Safety Management Standard
In 1992, OSHA enacted a new regulatory standard called
Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
(PSM). OSHA expressed about the standard:

…Hazardous chemical releases continue to pose a significant threat to


employees and provide impetus, internationally and nationally, for
authorities to develop or consider developing legislation and
regulations to eliminate or minimize the potential for such events.
Exemption from OSHA’s Process
Safety Management Standard

At the end of the day, even


with the passage of PSM,
and the opportunity PSM
presented to cover the
industry, there remained
no specific OSHA regulation
that governed onshore
drilling.
What is Coming?

The Final CSB Report Released On June 12, 2019 makes clear
that there is a definitive lack of regulatory control for what
they believe, in my opinion, is clearly a PSM fix to the problem

We have seen Industry apply PSM activities as a “fix” to the


offshore safety environment following incidents and when
followed diligently, appear to work fairly well.

Midstream and Downstream use PSM, why not Upstream?


My Conclusions…

Nonetheless, an Oilfield Standard, on the order of a


Construction or General Industry Standard will eventually be
developed.

Using PSM techniques with cooperative efforts with our


Regulators, in my opinion, looks like Industry’s best future
to develop regulations and processes that can work in our
industry, in the “real” world and can become our “New
Normal”
Finally…

As an industry, we need to embrace the inevitable evolution


of safety, the management of risk in business and personal
responsibility to our co-workers and family.

We all are involved, and we all benefit by giving our best


efforts.

Let’s continue the work and…


Remember…

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