Tuesday, October 25, 2016

An employee of Secure Energy Services killed in Alberta, CA oilfield near Fox Creek after he was struck by a lose pump hose



OCTOBER 25, 2016

A 47-year-old man was killed in a workplace accident near Fox Creek on Sunday.

The man, an employee of contractor Secure Energy Services, was working at a Shell Canada drilling site about 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton when the accident occurred. Occupational Health and Safety spokesperson Lauren Welsh said the man was struck by a hose at about 5:45 p.m.

“The work site was situated by the side of a river and the workers were pumping water to a different location for well-site activities,” Welsh said. “The pumps started revving, and when workers went to investigate, one of the hoses let go and struck a worker.”

The man, who has not been identified, was treated by paramedics at the scene and then transferred to hospital in Fox Creek, where he died.

The worksite was immediately shut down and OHS officers are investigating. Counselling support is being provided to employees through both Secure Energy and Shell Canada’s Employee Assistance programs.

In a statement, Secure Energy Services President and CEO Rene Amirault said he was shocked by the tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with the family, friends and co-workers of the deceased as we work through this difficult time,” Amirault said, adding it was the first fatal worksite accident involving a Secure Energy Services employee in the company’s history.

Secure Energy Services, a publicly traded energy services company with 1,000 employees in Canada and the U.S., has its corporate head office in Calgary. The company offers fluids and solids solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Shell Canada said in a statement it is conducting its own investigation into the cause of the accident, in addition to cooperating with the OHS investigation and RCMP.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of an industry colleague, and our thoughts are with the family,” said Murray Elliott, Shell general manager, Greater Deep Basin.

“The safety of our staff, contractors and neighbours is our top priority in everything we do. We are working closely with the parties involved to gather more information and learn from this incident.”

This is the 16th death as a result of a workplace incident in Alberta in 2016, according to OHS.


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Our Fox Creek Full Service Terminal offers waste management, fluid disposal, custom treating and terminalling services. We have applied best-in-class engineering practices throughout the design of the facility to meet the expressed needs and preferences of our customers.

As responsible corporate neighbours we designed, built and operate this facility with the environment and public health and safety as a top priority:
  • When offloading sour hydrocarbon-based liquid and slurry loads, a closed system is used to prevent fugitive H2S emissions and occupational exposure.
  • Our process vessels and tanks use a state-of-the-art vapor collection and recovery system to prevent fugitive emissions. When new product enters the tank, the blanket gas is displaced and sent through the vapour recovery system.
  • The site has an intermittent, air-assisted natural gas piloted flare at the site. Flaring activities at the site meet the requirements of ERCB Directive 60.