Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310825849 - Key Energy Services

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

On March 31, 2008, Employee #1 and two coworkers were replacing a failed packer on an AHERA Energy steam injection well, which measured 450-feet deep. The crew isolated the well from its steam source and injected the well with one hundred barrels of brine water that was pumped down the injection string. Then the wellhead was removed and the blowout prevention equipment (BOPE) was lowered into place by way of a mobile derrick. The BOPE rested on a block, which together weighed 6,000 pounds. Despite the heaviness of the BOPE and block combination, the well's injection string rose up and became fouled in the mobile derrick's block. This raised concern because it raised the potential for a well blowout (estimated sound level >130 dB). Employee #1 and his coworkers notified their supervisor and began pumping the well casing with brine water in an attempt to settle the well. After the injection string fell, allowing the BOPE to contact the well, Employee #1 and his coworkers were instructed to bolt up the BOPE. While the supervisor was operating the derrick, Employee #1 and his coworkers worked to bolt the BOPE into place. As Employee #1 was in a crouched position, a backflow of hot fluid came from the injection string and contacted him. The crew immediately responded using set emergency procedures. Employee #1 was taken to Fresno Community Hospital, where he was hospitalized and treated in their burn unit for first- and second-degree burns to his shoulder and back. The accident investigation revealed that Employee #1 was not wearing the appropriate protective equipment.

Keywords: BURN, PPE, WELL, EQUIPMENT FAILURE, STEAM, STRUCK BY, HOT WATER