Thursday, March 12, 2015

STATIC ELECTRICITY SPARKS EXPLOSION THAT KILLS 1 WORKER, 1 SERIOUSLY INJURED IN NEW MEXICO OIL FIELD EXPLOSION







MARCH 12, 2015




HOBBS, N.M. (AP)




An explosion at a New Mexico oil field site has killed one worker and injured another.  The Lea County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) said deputies responded to the explosion in the area of NM 128 and Orla Road.




Authorities say preliminary information indicates the workers were loading material into perforated pipe being installed into a drilling pipe in southern Lea County when the blast occurred Wednesday around 3:30 pm.




The sheriff's office says metal debris from the explosion struck the victims.  The Lea County Sheriff's Office tells us Rusty Harrison James was killed in the explosion. Another worker, Tyler Winter, sustained injuries to his chest, torso, and right leg and was air lifted to Lubbock for treatment.




It's not yet known what caused the blast, and the sheriff's department says an investigation is underway.   When deputies arrived they found James Rusty Harrison had died from the explosion. Tyler Winters was air lifted to Lubbock for treatment. 




The oil field site belonged to Mesquite SWD out of Carlsbad, NM and the company working on the site was Warrior Wireline. Both of the victims worked for Warrior Wireline. LCSO said the men were Warrior Wireline employees, not contractors. 




Well, static electricity will most definitely provide the necessary spark for a blast.  So, if no other source of heat was nearby, then the static electricity created when loading metal material will create the explosion.  

 Certainly flammable gases are always around oil fields around and inside the well borehole area; it only needs a spark and oxygen to form the blast that killed this unlucky worker.




There was no fire following the explosion, leading us to believe that it was accumulated natural gas inside the casing the was ignited from the static electricity of the workers pipe loading activities.