Schedule halted as ConocoPhillips conducts safety check after worker hurt; first frack still expected in "late January"

Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 23, 2013

SAHTU
Preparations for two Sahtu wells, in which ConocoPhillips intends to conduct horizontal hydraulic fracturing late next month, were halted last week after a worker was injured.

The worker was struck on Dec. 13 when a winch line failed. The accident occurred while rig equipment was being moved, according to ConocoPhillips spokesperson Lauren Stewart.

"He was immediately sent to (Stanton Territorial Hospital) in Yellowknife, where he was diagnosed with a back injury," she stated in an e-mail to News/North last week. "The worker has since been released and has returned to his home in Alberta."

Drilling has been halted and rig crews and staff with Canol Oilfield Services were ordered to stand down for one week to allow for a safety assessment, she added

"Safety is our primary concern," she stated. "A thorough equipment inspection for all trucks and rig moving equipment was completed prior to any further rig moving activities. This will allow (ConocoPhillips) to concentrate our efforts on road and ice-bridge building as well as camp constructions."

Winter road access to the site is open, with the ice bridge open to limited traffic, and base camp is being moved in and set up.

Drilling operations are scheduled to start again by this week. Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as "fracking," is expected to be complete by the end of January.

The process involves the high pressure pumping of sand, water, and chemicals into cracks in a formation, creating fractures in the surrounding rock. When pressure is released, gas and oil is forced into the well bore.

The corporation's water licence dictates that fracking operations for the season be completed by March.

The National Energy Board approved the corporation's application to conduct exploratory fracking over the next five years on its Sahtu properties this past fall.