An Oklahoma-based horizontal drilling company faces up to $55,000 in penalties for safety violations at a drilling site in Jacksboro, Texas, federal officials say.
O.S.H.A. cited Horizontal Well Drillers with three repeat and one serious safety violation for exposing workers to hazards. OSHA’s Fort Worth Area Office conducted an investigation in response to a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions. Proposed penalties total $55,500.
These repeated violations include failing to provide an auxiliary escape line, ensure all guardrails are installed to prevent falls of more than 4 feet and ensure the usage of personal protective equipment such as flame-resistant clothing in the event of an arc flash fire.
(A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.)
Serious violations involve a failure to ground the shale shaker trailer and when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Horizontal Well Drillers, headquartered in Purcell, Oklahoma, is an oil and gas drilling company that employs about 450 workers. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Fort Worth area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
