Industry Casualty NEWS

US-based well control company, Wild Well Control and Oil Spill Response have formed an alliance to provide increased capability to the O&G industry. The collaboration between the two companies is designed to meet industry and regulatory expectations for a strong source control emergency response planning solution. The collaboration is said to provide a ‘one-stop solution’ to the O&G industry that covers all aspects of the emergency response.

Two staffers of Oil India Ltd have been suspended for alleged negligence of duty in the gas well blowout at Baghjan in Assam’s Tinsukia district. Earlier, Oil India Ltd (OIL) Chairman and MD Sushil Chandra Mishra said a five-member inquiry committee was formed and actions would be initiated on employees of the company if there was any prima facie evidence of human error.

A team of Forensic experts examined the site for two days and claimed that the gas leakage happened due to human error and negligence. The cooling process was not maintained during the lockdown and this resulted in the generation of enormous amounts of heat and vapors started coming out of the breathers, said the experts. This laxity resulted in the death of 12 people, whilst hundreds were hospitalized.

In an unfortunate event on Sunday, 15 people died in a gas explosion in Lagos, injuring many more and destroying around 50 buildings. State-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said that the blast happened due to a truck that "hit gas bottles stacked up in a gas processing plant. National emergency services spokesman told AFP, "15 bodies have been recovered now. So many people have been injured," .

Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy has informed about an oil well fire at one of its drill sites in Texas, saying that emergency personnel are responding to the situation. Local media in Burleson County have claimed multiple injuries at the site, approximately 75 miles east of Austin. Chesapeake spokesperson did not respond to questions on injuries.

Saudi Aramco-owned SASREF yesterday informed about the death of two contractors in “an incident” during maintenance work on Sunday. A statement released by the refiner said that the incident also left two others injured. Maintenance work will continue as planned at the facility. SASREF existed as a joint venture between Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell until September when Aramco bought it Shell’s stake in the JV.

A fire broke out at ONGC’s Uran gas processing plant this morning, killing at least five. Eight others injured in the incident have been admitted to a hospital, as rescue operations remain underway. ONGC said that gas being supplied to the plant has been averted to a plant in Hazira, Gujarat.

Enbridge-owned Kentucky natural gas line erupted in a ball of flames in rural Kentucky yesterday. A local sheriff said that the explosion killed one person and put numerous houses on fire. The blast was second in the line of explosions that have taken place on Enbridge’s Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline. The pipeline delivers gas and utilities along the route to consumers, including Gulf Coast industrial facilities and LNG export terminals.

In an unfortunate event on Sunday morning, two crew members at the Shell Auger Tension Leg Platform were killed during a routine test. A Shell spokesperson informed that the accident happened while crews were performing a mandatory test of the lifeboat launch at the rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Apart from the two killed during the accident, another one was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

An explosion in a ruptured pipeline burnt many people trying to fill containers with fuel in central Mexico yesterday. Television footage showed flames blazing from the burning pipeline in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan. State governor Omar Fayad denied knowledge of any deaths, but said that he had received reports that “many people” suffered burn injuries in the explosion.

A huge fire broke out at the Vohburg Refinery in Germany, followed by a blast. The incident forced the authorities to evacuate the surrounding area inhabited by atleast 1,800 residents. The mishap at the 120,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant, part of the Bayernoil refinery complex, left 10 people injured. Varo Energy, Rosneft Deutschland, Eni Deutschland and BP Europe jointly own stakes of Bayernoil.