OSHA Inspection: APACHE CORPORATION

Issued

Dec 18, 2000

Abate by

Jan 16, 2001

Penalty

Initial $6,300

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish to each of his employees a place of employment which was free from
recognized hazards
that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that
employees were exposed to the following condition(s):
J.W.Adkins A-1 Well, Shongaloo Oil Field Section 32-T23N-R9W , 1 mile west
of Shongaloo,
Shongaloo LA. For the period of time up to and including 21 Jun 00, a
Lufkin Model #M160D-
213-86 Serial #F108414J-47871 Pump Jack was not de-energized prior to work
being conducted
on or near the unit. Specific lock-out/tag-out training was not provided
in order for employees
working on or near these units to recognize the potential hazards
associated with the pump jack
and to properly isolate the equipment. This condition exposed employees to
the hazards and
injuries related to being struck by moving equipment on the pump jack.
According to API RP54, 1992 edition, "Recommended Practices for
Occupational Safety for Oil
& Gas Well Drilling and Servicing Operations", Section 10 "Pumping Units"
states the
following:
"10.1 Well Pumping Units.
10.1.1 Electric power to the pumping units should be de-energized a
sufficient distance
from the wellhead to eliminate potential electrical hazards during well
servicing
operations...
10.1.2 When well servicing operations are to be performed, the pumping
unit should be
turned off, the brake set, and where applicable, the master electrical
control switch be
locked out or tagged out.
10.1.3 If the pumping unit is stopped with the counterweight in other than
the down
position, additional means should be used to prevent any unintended
movement of the
counterweights or beam."
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptible abatement method to
correct
this hazard is
to modify current lock-out/tag-out training procedures to include specific
examples and
instructions to lock-out/tag-out potential releases of energy on pump jack
units.