The CSB issues safety recommendations to prevent the recurrence or reduce the likelihood or consequences of similar incidents or hazards in the future. Recommendations are issued to a variety of parties, including government entities, safety organizations, trade unions, trade associations, corporations, emergency response organizations, educational institutions, and public interest groups. Recommendations are published in CSB reports and are closed only by vote of the Board. The CSB tracks all recommendations and communicates regularly with recommendations recipients to ensure that the recommended corrective actions are implemented.

For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions about CSB recommendations.


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Recommendations

Wendland 1H Well Fatal Explosion (4 Recommendations)
American Petroleum Institute (API) (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%

Final Report Released On: December 26, 2023

2020-04-I-TX-2

Publish the following information in an appropriate document such as API RP 59 Recommended Practice for Well Control Operations:

1. A focused discussion on practices applicable to workover operations, including completed wells in underpressured reservoirs. Include well control methods applicable to workover operations, such as using continuous fluid addition, viscous fluids, bridging solids, and mechanical plugs. Also include a discussion on the well control challenges and hazards specific to workover operations;

2. Stabbing valves should not be considered as well control barriers for workover operations; and

3. Every well should be considered to have potential to flow, and therefore, should have two well control barriers, one of which should be a preventative barrier.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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Chesapeake Operating, LLC (1 Recommendations)
Open: 0% | Closed: 100%

Final Report Released On: December 26, 2023

2020-04-I-TX-1

Develop or revise policies incorporating the recommendations of API RP 59 regarding well planning, specifically the inclusion of well history review in conjunction with workover well control planning.


Status: Closed - Acceptable Action
Closed - Acceptable Action (C - AA) - The recipient has completed action on the recommendation. The action taken meets the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (2 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%

Final Report Released On: December 26, 2023

2020-04-I-TX-3

Remove the exemption for oil and gas drilling and well servicing from the Control of Hazardous Energy standard (29 CFR 1910.147) and expand its applicability to cover oil and gas production and workover operations.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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2020-04-I-TX-4

Promulgate a new standard with prescriptive requirements, similar to the Control of Hazardous Energy Standard, as well as a performance-based safety management system framework, similar to the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard, that applies to the drilling, production, and servicing/workover activities surrounding onshore oil and gas wells. At a minimum, this standard should include the following:

1. Prescriptively address requirements for primary and secondary barriers for well control;

2. Detailed written drilling, production, and servicing procedures with specified steps and equipment alignment for all operations;

3. Management of change requirements (except replacements in kind) that, at a minimum, address procedures, the well plan, and equipment;

4. A risk assessment of hazards associated with the drilling, production, and servicing/workover plans;

5. A requirement to follow Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP);

6. Development of a Well Construction Interface Document between the operator and the drilling contractor prior to the commencement of drilling and servicing activities and an equivalent document for production and workover contractors which, at a minimum, includes a bridging document and well plans specifying barriers and how to manage them;

7. The performance and documentation of flow checks using acceptable methods at defined points during the operation for a specified duration;

8. A requirement for employee participation, similar to the Employee Participation requirement in the OSHA PSM standard;

9. A requirement for maintaining critical well information, similar to the Process Safety Information requirement in the OSHA PSM standard, which at a minimum includes well history and documented well control methods during workovers;

10. A requirement for analyzing and assessing the hazards during all phases and steps for well servicing, similar to the Process Hazard Analysis requirement in the OSHA PSM standard;

11. A requirement for developing, executing, communicating, and maintaining procedures for drilling, production, and servicing operations on a well, similar to the Operating Procedures requirement in the OSHA PSM standard; and

12. The documentation of well control plans for drilling, production, and servicing/workover operations for a well utilizing acceptable methods for monitoring the effectiveness of well control methods.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary