US safety watchdog urges new drilling rules: Update

Adds comments from OSHA, API

A federal agency that investigates industrial accidents is calling for new safety regulations for onshore oil and gas drillers, in response to a 2018 blowout of a well in Oklahoma that killed five workers.

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), in an investigative report released today, said lapses in good safety practices allowed large quantities of gas to enter the Pryor Trust well and cause the blowout. The report urged federal and state agencies to adopt new onshore drilling safety standards to help prevent future accidents.

"If some of these safety practices had been in place, this tragedy could have been averted," interim CSB executive director Kristen Kulinowski said. "Our report lays out a strong case for recognizing the hazards in this industry and ensuring the safety of its workers."

The Pyror Trust 22 January 2018 accident occurred because the crew did not maintain adequate drilling mud, and then failed to detect a large influx of gas in time to activate a blowout preventer, the CSB found. Five workers died from burns and smoke inhalation inside a cabin off the drilling floor, it said.

The CSB also listed a lack of planning, a decision to continue to drill under unexpected conditions, and a failure to perform certain safety checks as contributing factors in the accident. Red Mountain Energy, the well's leaseholder and operator, did not respond for comment.

The report also said an absence of drilling-specific safety rules at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Oklahoma Corporate Commission should be addressed. OSHA said it was considering drilling safety rules as part of a "process safety management" standard the agency took up in 2013. OSHA lists the standard as a long-term action and does not have a deadline for next steps.

The CSB report also recommended that the industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) draft guidance on automated safety standards, alarms and protections for workers inside drilling cabins. API's upstream and industry operations vice president Erik Milito said the trade group works closely with OSHA and other agencies to reduce risks and work toward zero incidents. API will review the report and consider its recommendations, he said.

President Donald Trump in each of his budget requests has asked sought to eliminate the CSB, which his administration contends does work that is largely performed of other federal agencies. The US Congress has rejected those requests every year.