Fracking kills one injures more - Weld County CO

[Bob]

Frak'ing kills again

3500 psi water from a fraking well job burst out and killed one man injuring the others all trying to get the valve unfrozen. Temperatures dipped in to the -16 degrees ranges in Meede where the accident happened, earlier this morning..

The fracking site is located at Highway 66 and Weld County Road 9½ east of Interstate 25.

It was an Anadarko well site, being worked on by Halliburton..


The fracking site is an Anadarko leased property. The three men involved in the accident were working for Halliburton.


http://cbsdenver.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/deadly-fracking-accident-dispirito.jpg?w=620&h=349&crop=1

(ouch, fracking does hurt all involved)..

(Source (http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/11/13/1-dead-at-weld-county-fracking-site/))

[Calz]

No time now ... but sheez ... so much crystal clear evidence about this process.

Why do we submit???

[chancy]

Hello Everyone:
As long as the world is dependant on oil there will be fracking. Oil companies will always frack. It's the most profitable way to get to the oil.
It's either frack or drill way more holes. Whether a person is for or against fracking if you drive a car or any type of motorized vehicle you have had fracking in your life. Until everyone demands new alternatives fracking is here to stay.

chancy

[Bob]

It's kinda really silly to be drilling/fracking below freezing. And at negative 16 F (-26.6C) temperatures at that for the area.. If the job is lost due to freezing, who is supposed to pay for the loss of equipment? Somebody's lapse in good judgement pushed these fellows to try to thaw out a pressurized system..

Er, hmm Halliburton again.. wonder what that was about.. do you think they have a history of safety problems, like the Gulf of Mexico fiasco?

Somehow I can't imagine them spending the $$$ to mix a non-toxic anti-freeze in with the frack fluid tho..

http://www.halliburton.com/public/news/pubsdata/press_release/2014/corpnews-090414.html - Court Rules Halliburton NEGLIGENT


HOUSTON – Sept. 4, 2014 – Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) today said that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that Halliburton was negligent in its conduct related to the April 20, 2010 Macondo well incident in the Gulf of Mexico. - Halliburton will settle U.S. Gulf spill claims for $1.1 billion

Something like Halliburton is saddened about the deaths of the workers lost on the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico..

Let's see what they say today about the "problem" ...


http://localtvkdvr.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/hali.jpg?w=770

The accident was caused by a high-pressure water valve that ruptured or exploded, the sheriff’s office said. (while attempting to thaw it out from being frozen due to extremely low temps)

A Flight for Life was on the ground to transport the surviving victims to a hospital.

The site is operated by Halliburton, and all three victims worked for the company.

“Halliburton is saddened to confirm the death of our employee who died on a work site north of Fort Lupton, Colo.,” the company said in a statement. “This is a very difficult time for all of us at Halliburton, and we are working with local authorities as they look into the details of this incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with our employees’ loved ones. Out of respect for the families’ privacy, we are not releasing any additional information at this time.”

Anyone with metal smarts understands the concept that STEEL becomes brittle at lower temperatures.. To operate such a frozen very high pressure system and then attempt to "warm it" (most likely what had happened, irregular heating due to some torch or something applied to the valve, conjecture tho..) is pure insanity.. especially if ice had already created hairline fractures..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittleness -


Many steels become brittle at low temperatures (see ductile-brittle transition temperature)



Of course as the water froze, expanded and then could have caused a hairline crack or series of cracks, removing some of the ice 'plug' would be suicidal.. why push in the ultra-cold?

Multiple issues trying to do high pressure fracking below 32 F.. In this case WAY below zero..

Dead person's name is Mathew Smith, a local who had lived Brighton Colorado.

[Gatita]

That's less than an hour northeast of me. Halliburton? Not impressed with their safety record. Not impressed with fracking's safety record either. My grandmother's first husband died in a mining accident. My dad almost lost a leg in a mining accident. But they weren't being told that mining is perfectly safe. They knew it was dangerous. It was also the only job available. Saying that an operation is safe, doesn't make it so.

Cat