OSHA Inspection: ENCANA OIL AND GAS USA

Issued

Feb 14, 2013

Abate by

Apr 2, 2013

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $7,000

General-duty citation text

Section (5)(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were exposed to struck-by hazards due to the inadvertent release of pressurized natural gas:    (a)Encana Oil and Gas USA at Davis 1a, 1b, 1c 9H, Fort Lupton, CO 80621:  On August 15, 2012 the employer did not ensure that employees engaged in connecting a flowline extension to the well head were protected from struck-by hazards associated with pressurized natural gas.  The employer did not have sufficient procedures and controls implemented to effectively ensure the pipeline was de-energized (flowline and riser blown down) before work began that led to a catastrophic release of natural gas.  This condition exposed the employees to a struck-by hazard.    Abatement Note:  Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard is to develop and implement specific procedural elements to control hazardous energy in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute (API) recommended practice 74 section 6.3 Lockout/Tagout which states: A lockout/tagout program shall be established to control hazardous energy as follows: (b) Personnel should be trained and disciplined in the  use of this system to prevent unexpected operations of any equipment that stores any type of energy that might inflict injury to personnel.