UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Inspection Detail

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Inspection: 743801.015 - Mcclellan & Vick Consulting Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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Inspection: 531358.015 - Mbf Inspection Services Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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Inspection: 531179.015 - Halliburton Energy Services

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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Investigation Summary

At 8:00 AM on June 25, 2012, a crew was conducting an ILI inspection of gas pipe line using a pig to clean, examine, and test the pipeline. The crew was using a Halliburton pumper truck used for fracking operations. The pumper was sending nitrogen down the line to purge the carbons. An error in valve positioning occu rred when the ball valve was left closed to the main line. The pumper truck exc eeded the specs that the pig launcher was built to. The employee had positioned his crew and made sure that the pump truck and tankers were all set and running. He went to the viciinity of the pig launcher. He felt he was given the go ahe ad to start pumping the nitrogen. He was also watching the gauges on the launch er. He spoke to another employee and saw no reading on the gauges. He started walking away from the launcher toward the gate leading out of the compound towar d his black pipe and pumper. He came on the radiio and gave the operator instr uctions to increase the volume he was pumping. When the operator went from 300 0 cfm to 5000 cfm as directed, the launcher ruptured due to the ball valve lead ing to the closed pipeline. The black 2" pipe supplying the nitrogen to the lau ncher, broke loose and swept into the employee's legs. The fllying parts of th e steel piping to the pig launcher struck the employee.

Keywords:pipeline, pressure release, pump

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Inspection: 530858.015 - Elkhorn Construction Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on June 25, 2012, an employee was at the side of the pig launcher. The process was to purge the line of carbon gas with nitrogen. T he nitrogen was pumped by a rig used to frac wells. The pump truck was capable of creating pressures which were several times greater than the launcher was des igned and built for. The employee had several responsibilities some of which we re to check the joints of black pipe feeding the nitrogen. This entailed pourin g soap water on the joints and check for bubbles. He was also responsible for w atching the pressure gauges on the launcher, getting the line purged so the pigg ing operation could start, and opening and closing the ball valves in the line t o provide for proper flow. He had just spoken to another employee while looking at the gauges on the launcher when the launcher ruptured. The ball valve leadin g to the 16-in. main line was not open. The pump truck had been pushing nitroge n into the small pig launcher instead of over three mile long pipeline. The gau ges were not reading any pressure at all and when the pump truck kicked up the p ressure, the launcher ruptured. The launcher was shot over 800 feet away. The main part of the vessel struck another employee killing him instantly. During t he ILI inspection of gas pipeline a pig is used to clean, examine, and test the pipeline. The crew was using a Halliburton pumper truck used for fracing operat ions. The pumper was sending nitrogen down the line to purge the carbons. An e rror in valve positioning occurred when the ball valve was left closed to the ma in line. The pumper truck far exceeded the specs that the pig launcher was buil t to. The launcher ruptured and killed one while injuring two more employees.

Keywords:compressed gas, explosion, flying object, nitrogen, pipe, struck by

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Inspection: 521219.015 - Bp America Production Company

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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Investigation Summary

On June 25, 2012, an employee was in charge of setting the valves for a pipeline pigging operations. The crew was filling a pig launcher and over three miles o f a 16-in. gas line with nitrogen to purge the line and prepare to launch a smar t pig. The employee was responsible for checking the two gauges installed on th e launcher and for checking for leaks in the pipe supplying the nitrogen to the launcher. No one ever saw the gauges move. The ball valve leading to the pipe was not opened. No one watched the gauges continuously and no one saw them top out and fail. The pump truck supplying the nitrogen to purge the line was of a capacity which could frac wells miles deep. The supervisor for the truck had th e truck pumping for a couple of minutes at 3000 cfm. The truck then stalled and had to be restarted. A quick glance at the gauges seemed to still read 0. The supervisor gave a signal and had the operator kick the pressure up to 5000 cfm. The pig launcher ruptured and sent most of the launcher about 900 feet away. The employee was struck on the upper body and was killed instantly. The pump tr uck supervisor had walked away toward his truck and was struck in both legs by t he black pipe, resulting in several operations and months off work. The supervi sor for the crew there to load the pigs was helping in the sniffing of the lines and was also struck resulting in broken jaw, shoulder, ribs, and was hospitaliz ed for a lengthy period.

Keywords:compressed gas, explosion, flying object, leg, rib, shoulder, struck by

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Inspection: 531038.015 - Crossfire Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

 

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