Oilfield Worker Died From Fall In Workover Rig Explosion

Source: Billings Gazette

An autopsy shows that an oil field worker who died last Saturday was killed as the result of a fall, the second time a worker for the same company has been hurt in a fall in the past eight months.

State Forensic Medical Examiner William Massello III listed the cause of death for 52-year-old Johnny Stassinos as blunt chest, abdominal and pelvic injuries that resulted from a falling from a height associated with a petroleum site explosion near Watford City.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate the incident that killed Stassinos and injured three other others while they were working on a workover rig when the oil well ignited.

Stassinos, a well operator for Most Wanted Well Service, died at Trinity Hospital in Minot later the same day. An obituary said Stassinos, of Rock Springs, Wyo., is survived by his wife, four children, two stepchildren and a grandchild.

The incident is the second time in less than a year that a Most Wanted Well Service employee suffered injuries stemming from a fall while working on a North Dakota well site owned by XTO Energy, according to OSHA records.

OSHA issued a citation to Most Wanted Well Service after investigating a Nov. 23, 2015, incident that involved a worker who suffered fractures and lacerations from a fall while escaping from a “snubbing basket” on a workover rig without an adequate escape line. OSHA classified the citation as a serious violation with a gravity level of 10 on a scale of one to 10, issuing a fine of $2,800.

In that case, the worker was in a basket 27 feet above ground and the means of escape available to him were a ladder and a nylon rope, according to OSHA records. A slide pole was installed, but the OSHA report said it was impossible to use because of a wind tarp wrapped around the snubbing basket.

A well blowout occurred, making the ladder impractical to use because the worker would have had to go through high-pressure crude and brine, the OSHA report says. The employee slid down the rope with his hands and arms and fell about 10 feet to a trailer. He rolled onto the ground after hitting the trailer, documents show.

OSHA determined that the rope, which appeared to have many cuts and frays, was not an adequate means of escape and workers were not trained on attaching a lanyard to the rope.

While XTO did not receive a citation for the incident, OSHA did issue a hazard alert letter to XTO, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, advising the company to take steps to eliminate the safety hazard.

C. Craig Nelson, a safety coordinator with XTO, wrote to OSHA that the company reinforced to all contractors that they must provide an adequate means of escape for workers.

Eric Brooks, area director of the Bismarck OSHA office, said the investigation into the June 18 incident is still ongoing and he couldn’t comment on whether it involved a similar safety violation.