Forbes Energy Services unit was drilling contractor in Chesapeake blast - regulator (updated)

Forbes Energy Services

31/01/2020 17:59

(Adds details from inspection report, background)
    By Liz Hampton
    Jan 31 (Reuters) - Employees of Alice, Texas-based Forbes
Energy Services  FLSS.PK  were among those working at a
Chesapeake Energy  CHK.N  well in Texas that exploded this week,
killing one person and injuring three others, the state's oil
and gas regulator said on Friday. 
    Chesapeake Energy, Eagle Pressure Control and CC Forbes, a
unit of Forbes Energy Services, all had workers at the site when
the blast occurred, according to a Texas Railroad Commission
report. There were 11 people on the scene in total, the
commission said. 
    The well blowout occurred on Wednesday during a well
servicing operation at a remote site near Deanville, Texas,
about 75 miles (121 km) east of Austin. Names of the victims
have not been disclosed. 
    Chesapeake and Eagle Pressure Control did not immediately
respond to requests for comments. Forbes did not respond to
phone calls or emails seeking comment. 
    The workers were in the process of upgrading the wellhead
when a surge of natural gas from the well ignited, prompting the
blast. The source of the ignition has not been identified,
according the report. 
    The company plans to remove the rig involved in the incident
and secure the well, the inspector wrote on Thursday. 
    The fatality was the first in Texas involving a well blowout
since April 2013, according to data from the state's energy
regulator. A blowout involves a sudden, high-pressure release of
oil or gas from a well. 
    Three workers suffered burns in Wednesday's blast and were
airlifted to hospitals in Austin and Houston. 
    The number of workers in Texas injured during well blowouts
has declined in recent years amid the rise in shale drilling.
Nine workers were injured in blowouts last year, compared
with 14 in 2017 and 21 in 2016, state data showed. 

 (Reporting by Liz Hampton and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama and Dan Grebler)
 ((Gary.McWilliams@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713-210-8513;))