TRIPPING IN HOLE
Country: CANADA - North America
Location: ---
Incident Date: 27 March 2009 Time: ---
Type of Activity: Drilling, Workover, Well Services
Type of Injury: Struck by
Function: Drilling
Applicabale Filter Categories: Struck by
During the night shift, the crew was tripping to bottom with the drill string. While tripping into the well the crew encountered an obstruction (bridge) and came to a complete stop. With the sudden stop of the drill string, the drawworks drum spooled off excess drill line until the drum brakes were applied. It was determined that the drill line would have to be spooled back onto the drum. It is believed that the worker proceeded to the area between the derrick and the drawworks. The drill string became free as it fell through the bridge. The drill line whipped up and towards the drawworks. The drilling line struck worker, as the slack in the drill line tightened. The worker sustained fatal injuries from the impact.
Corrective actions and Recommendations:
Interim Corrective Actions:
The following preliminary recommendations were identified:
- All Supervisors must review their site-specific procedures and hazard assessments pertaining to encountering obstructions (bridges) in the wellbore.
- If an obstruction is encountered while running in the wellbore, which stops the drill string and results in slack drilling line, apply the drawworks brakes immediately. All personnel must clear the floor immediately, stand in a safe area until an assessment of the potential hazards is conducted, and appropriate controls are put in place and confirmed./li>
- Evaluate the potential risks and if safe to proceed set the slips. This will prevent uncontrolled movement of overhead equipment and uncontrolled movement of the drill string.
- During future operations, if an obstruction causes the wire rope to spool off the drum, no personnel will enter the danger zones (where the sudden and uncontrolled movement of the wire rope may contact personnel). Access into the danger zone must be controlled until the wire rope has been secured from movement. The Supervisor must confirm that the drill line has been fully secured before proceeding with operations.
Outcome and Recommendations:
TBD
NOTE: This is W5 (Who, What, When, Where, Why) information. The Employer and Alberta Workplace Health and Safety investigation has commenced. Further details of outcomes and recommendations will be released once investigation is complete.
Source Contact:
This alert is being distributed via a partnership between the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (http://www.ogp.org.uk/) and Enform (http://www.enform.ca/).
DISCLAIMER:
This Safety Alert is designed to prevent similar incidents by communicating the information at the earliest possible opportunity. Accordingly, the information may change over time. It may be necessary to obtain updates from the source before relying upon the accuracy of the information contained herein. This material is presented for information purposes only. Managers and supervisors should evaluate this information to determine if it can be applied to their own situations and practices.
safety alert number: 211
uploaded: 4-June-2009
OGP Safety Alerts http://info.ogp.org.uk/safety/
