Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311868582 - Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

On March 12, 2009, Employee #1, a drill rig hand, and his coworker, a service specialist, were helping a crew doing work-over operations on a natural gas well. The rig was positioned over the wellhead, and an area of the rig floor was slid open just enough to allow access to the wellhead. Employee #1's coworker was going to try to place a packer into the hole and try to get pass a tight spot in the well. During the process of trying to get the packer past this tight spot, Employee #1 and his coworker placed a pipe wrench on the drill pipe to add additional torque. The drill pipe was feed through a slip or spider that was secured to the wellhead. When it became obvious that the packer was not going to get through the tight spot, Employee #1's coworker decided to abandon the work. As the coworker was talking to the driller, the torque on the wrench became too great and caused Employee #1's foot to slip. Employee #1 fell into a small area between the floor and the wellhead. Employee #1 was hospitalized, where he was treated for fractures to his left ankle and the backbone of his left leg.

Keywords: FRACTURE, REPAIR, GAS WELL, SLIP, NATURAL GAS, FALL, FLOOR OPENING, WELLHEAD, ANKLE, LEG