The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has released its investigation report following a February 18, 2023 incident on BP Exploration and Production’s Thunderhorse PDQ Platform. At the time, the platform was performing plug and abandonment work at Mississippi Canyon Block (MC) 778. During the incident, a worker was injured when drill pipe was dropped on the rig floor.
The BSEE report documents the sequence of events in the incident:
At 21:27 hours, on February 18, 2023, while pulling out of the hole (POOH) with the 13th stand of 4-1/2 inch drill pipe, the Driller set the weight of the string on the slips and lowered the BX4 elevator position to clear the shoulder of the tool joint. A Floor Hand used an Iron Rough Neck to break and spin out the connection before the Assistant Driller (AD) could get the Pipe Racking System (PRS) back into position and grab the 13th stand of 4-1/2 inch drill pipe. The Driller functioned the elevators to the open position. This resulted in the stand of pipe falling towards the port side of the rig floor and coming to rest on top of the hoist of the auxiliary PRS that was parked in the home position. Although the red zone was clear at the time of the event, the stand of pipe fell across the yellow zone of the rig floor within close proximity of the three Floor Hands. After realizing that the stand of pipe was falling, the three Floor Hands began to evacuate the area with one Floor Hand slipping on the deck. After the area was secure, one Floor Hand reported to the Tool Pusher that he felt pain in his knee and hip because of slipping to the deck. The job was stopped and the area was secured. The injured Floor Hand reported to the Medic, was sent in for further evaluation, and did not return to the facility.
The incident shows the importance of job planning and safety meetings. JSAs are an important resource offshore, documenting hazards associated with each job step, as well as methods to mitigate them. Similarly, work permits often describe risks with the work to be performed, and must be followed to ensure everyone’s safety.
BSEE determined the incident’s probable cause:
• Human error: The Driller was not following the Work Instructions for Tripping Operations Pull Out of Hole (POOH) No. WI-TH-DR-OPS-096 and inadvertently opened the pipe elevators before the PRS was attached to the 4-1/2 inch drill pipe.
The investigation also determined that there were violations of federal regulations:
SPECIFY VIOLATIONS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY CONTRIBUTING. NARRATIVE:
PINC Number: G-110 Enforcement Action: Shut in Authority: 30 CFR 250.107 DOES THE LESSEE PERFORM ALL OPERATIONS IN A SAFE AND WORKMANLIKE MANNER AND PROVIDE FOR THE PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION OF PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT?
During the investigation it was discovered that the Driller was not following the Work Instructions for Tripping Operations – Pull Out of Hole (POOH) No. WI-TH-DR-OPS-096, which states Failure to confirm the Pipe Racking System (PRS) is holding the drill string before unlatching the elevators will result in dropping stand and injuring personnel. Due to the driller functioning the elevators to the open position before the Pipe Racking System (PRS) could secure the stand in the rotary allowed the stand in the rotary to fall across rig floor. There were four floor hands on the drill floor at this time that aggressively tried to egress the area to avoid being hit by the falling pipe, one of them were injured and sent in for medical evaluation.
Our attorneys have extensive experience in maritime injury and wrongful death litigation in courts across the country and the skills needed to represent the families of loved ones who have lost their lives as a result of the negligence of another party, or been seriously injured. We have handled numerous cases involving injuries that occurred on offshore platforms. The experienced offshore accident attorneys at Spagnoletti Law Firm can help you understand your rights if you or a loved one was a victim of an accident. Please contact us online or call 713-804-9306 or to learn more about your legal rights.