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OSHA not citing Chevron for fatal well fire

By Steve Ferris, For The Greene County Messenger 3 min read

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decided against citing Chevron for the fire at one of its natural gas wells in Greene County that killed a worker in February.

An OSHA report indicated that officials could not determine the exact cause of the fire that killed Ian McKee, 27, who was from Warren, but had been living with his pregnant girlfriend in Morgantown, W.Va., at the time of the fire.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued several citations against Chevron for the explosion and fire at its Lanco 7H well in Dunkard Township on Feb. 11.

Human error and a failed screw and nut assembly were possible causes, according to the DEP.

A DEP investigation found that sufficient oversight was not always provided and a contract worker with no oil field experience worked on the well contrary to company policy.

The DEP cited Chevron for allegedly failing to prevent the explosion and fires, the release of natural gas and other hazardous substances, and hindering state emergency crews from accessing the site.

Three wells ignited in the explosion.

A truck and other equipment were superheated by the fire and kept igniting gas escaping from the wells. The fires were extinguished about four days later, and the wells were capped on Feb. 25.

McKee was a technician for Cameron International, a subcontractor. His parents, Denise and Robert McKee, have filed a lawsuit against Chevron Appalachia LLC, the subsidiary that owns the well, claiming the company was negligent.

The DEP’s report said a lock pin assembly was ejected from part of the well head, creating a hole that allowed gas to escape from the well. That gas was ignited by some source. No mechanical cause for the lock pin ejection was found.

Chevron’s well site managers provided lacking supervision, some were inadequately trained and at least seven different managers worked at the well site between Feb. 4 and 11, according to the report

The report noted that two Cameron employees — one experienced, one not — were working at the 7H well.

Chevron had a policy for inexperienced workers, known as “green hats,” but none of its paperwork indicated that there was an inexperienced Cameron worker at the well site, according to the report. The “green hat,” who was not identified in the report, was not supervised closely and had not been trained on well procedures, the report found.

“When Well 7H began to leak gas, a Cameron employee ran toward the well, and died in the fire,” the report stated.

An employee from another company was also on the pad, but was rescued from his vehicle, according to the report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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