Fatalities – 1994

February 18, 1994 – Aran Energy Corp.

Remarks: The gravel pack assembly was pulled from the well bore, and the assembly was stood up in the derrick. When the elevators were released, the gravel-pack assembly buckled between the second and third joints from the bottom. The derrickman fell backwards bruising his back. The top three joints fell away from the derrick. The two lower joints fell toward the rig floor. The first and second joints broke loose from each other. The first joint struck an employee in the head and pinned him to the rig floor, resulting in a fatality. The second joint penetrated the rig floor coming to rest near the shale shaker below the rig floor.

February 24, 1994 – Kerr McGee

Remarks: A diver employed by American Oilfield Divers became incapacitated while removing cable from a subsea well protector in 285 feet of water. A rescue attempt was unsuccessful, and the employee died.

Remarks: A contract diver was tightening a flange on an 8-inch oil and gas pipeline in 102 feet of water near the base of the riser on Platform Q. An explosion occurred. The divers body was not found.

March 15, 1994 – Exxon Corporation

Remarks: Noble Drilling Inc.’s jackup rig Percy Johns was skidded over well B-2 on March 12, 1994. Calcium Bromide (CaBr) was bullheaded down the tubing to kill the well. A back-pressure valve was then set in the tubing hanger of Well B-2 and the wellhead was removed. A BOP stack was then nippled up to Well B-2. While the back-pressure valve was being removed from the tubing hanger, an unexpected release of wellbore pressure occurred. The well was shut in almost immediately after the release of pressure by activation of one set of the pipe rams in the BOP stack. One fatality and two injuries resulted from something (possibly the rotary bushing insert) being expelled from the wellbore during the release of pressure. See OCS Report MMS 95-0041 for more details.

Remarks: The crew was changing out elevator links in preparation to pull the marine riser. They had removed the short elevator links from the elevator to install long elevator links. They had hung elevator link "A" on the elevator and were attempting to install the pin in the elevator hanger to secure link "A". Others were moving link "B" into position to hang it from the elevator hanger. Elevator link "B" was pushed into link "A", knocking link "A" loose from its hanger on the elevator. Elevator link "A" fell, striking and pinning an employee to the rig floor. The crew removed the link from the employee and the medic performed CPR to no avail. There was a thunderstorm with heavy rain at the time of the accident.

July 20, 1994 – Samedan

Remarks: After testing the BOP’s it was noted that there was a loose bolt on the BOP. A floor hand employed by Noble Drilling was lowered in a harness attached to a cable to tighten the bolt. The cable on the drum exhausted and detached causing the floor hand to drop into the water. The attached cable pulled him under the water causing him to drown. The US Coast Guard recovered the body and transported it to shore where the man was pronounced dead.

November 22, 1994 – Union Oil Company of California

Remarks: An employee of Garber Industries was on the derrick stabbing board while running casing. A second employee, also of Garber Industries, went up to relieve him. At this time, the traveling block was coming down with a joint of casing. The top drive unit apparently struck the stabbing board, shearing the bolts and causing it to fall to the rig floor. One employee was killed, and two employees were injured.

November 23, 1994 – CNG Producing Company

Remarks: A second-deck extension used to unload equipment with the upper deck crane collapsed. An employee of L&L Sandblasting was directing the filling of the sandblasting pot when the failure occurred. The employee and the equipment fell 55 feet directly into the Gulf. According to CNG personnel, the employee was wearing a work vest and was retrieved from the water within 5 minutes using a personnel basket and crane.

December 7, 1994 – General Atlantic Resources Inc.

Remarks: While nippling up the BOP, an employee fell 26 feet from a work platform to the platform deck. The employee was not wearing a safety belt.