Authorities release name of Michigan oilfield worker who died Monday
Amy Dalrymple Forum News Service
Jun 24, 2016
ROSS, NORTH DAKOTA – The oilfield worker who died Monday after being struck by equipment has been identified as Paul William Green II, 36, of Alger, Mich., the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office said.
Green was pronounced dead at a well site about 4.5 miles northeast of Ross after a deputy responded to a 911 call about 11 p.m. Monday.
Deputy Duane Marmon indicated that it appears the operator of a boom crane, used to lift drill pipe onto pipe racks, had not seen Green enter an area known as the red zone -- an area workers are not supposed to enter while the drilling rig is operating.
“A blind spot was caused by the boom when the operator of the crane picked up a pipe with the boom and lowered it onto the pipe rack, striking Mr. Green,” Sheriff Ken Halvorson wrote in a news release.
Green was unresponsive when the deputy arrived.
State Forensic Medical Examiner William Massello III listed the cause of death as blunt chest injuries from being struck and crushed by the falling metal boom.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. Green worked for Advanced Energy LLC of South Boardman, Mich. The oil well is owned by EOG Resources.
Green’s death was the second oilfield fatality in North Dakota in three days.
Advanced Energy has declined to comment on the incident.
