Final report : Pryor Trust Explosion Oklahoma

[Justin Hicks + 162]

The Chemical Safety Board has released its final report on the Pryor Trust well explosion that happened. Jan 22 2018 in Pittsburgh County Oklahoma resulting in five lives needlessly lost.

I'm pretty biased to Patterson -UTI and their lack of personnel training and running their equipment on the ragged edge. Having worked on, and provided services on Patterson rigs I've personally seen:  Brake bands worn to nothing, diaper pins missing from A leg pins, drawworks with less than 3 wraps and a host of other issues.( I was doing service work on Patterson 315 when the blocks hit the floor)

Here's pretty much what the report states:

Alarms turned off, inadequate training in underbalanced operations, lack of communication, inadequate training and policies for rig personnel.

My favorite( makes my blood boil) an employee, possibly with Red Mountain Operating said. "we'll put that mud weight money in our back pocket" 

Underbalanced drilling is tricky at best, even with a seasoned crew.  When you have consultants, remote operators and a host of others a crew doesn't normally work with, you're going to have issues.   When you purposely cut mud weight to save money and make an IP look good you need to get out of the oilfield. (Tony Say)

I pray that the families involved in the lawsuits do not settle out of court, and push Patterson -UTI and Red Mountain Operating to the brink of bankruptcy.

https://www.csb.gov/pryor-trust-fatal-gas-well-blowout-and-fire/

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

Absolutely correct Justin!

I wonder if the Drilling Supervisor, Driller, Assistant Driller had a valid well control certificate....or the Superintendent in town?

Well control in normally pressured wells is rarely fully understood, even if someone has a valid IWCF or IADC ticket. Under-balanced drilling just adds another level of complexity.

A Scottish night pusher told me something years ago that I use as a Golden Rule. If in ANY doubt, shut the well in! Take the time to figure out what is going on before you open it back up. Yes, this takes time and costs you money (a portion of the spreadcost per day) but it saves lives and avoids these disasters.

When you have these huge drilling booms, people worry about finding suitable rigs and ignore the fact that even if you get a rig, you may not be able to find a competent crew!

While in Colorado years ago I met Drilling Supervisors who had been Drillers for only a well or two...or Drillers who had been roughnecks a few months prior.