List of natural gas and oil production accidents in the United States
This article is intended as a companion to the Wikipedia article List of pipeline accidents in the United States. Large accidents, reported in the Wikipedia article, Industrial Disasters, are included. The production process encompasses all parts of the process from drilling for fuels to refining or processing to the final product. It also includes storage and disposal of waste. Unless otherwise stated, all accidents are associated with production wells.
Since many accidents involve transport of raw materials, several states included in this list have little or no fossil fuel production.
Useful web sites include:
- BloombergBusinessweek: Twenty-Five Years of Oil Spills
- Earthjustice: Fracking Across The United States
- Fractracker Alliance: Well Worker Safety and Statistics
- Fraccidents Maps of accidents
- National Response Center (oil spill registry)
- Induction-Well-Induced Earthquakes (USGS)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7d/Gas_Well_Fire_in_Greene_County_PA.png/220px-Gas_Well_Fire_in_Greene_County_PA.png)
Alabama
- November 8, 2013 – Pickens County, Crude oil train derails, fire, one person evacuated[1]
Alaska
- December 31, 2012 – Offshore drilling rig breaks loose from tow, 18 evacuated[2]
Arizona
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
Arkansas
- September 2010 – March 2011 – Near Greenbrier, earthquake swarm near injection wells, largest 4.7[4]
- March 29, 2013 – Mayflower – "Exxon-Pegasus" oil pipeline spill, 22 homes evacuated[5]
- November 12, 2014 – earthquake, see Kansas
California
- May 15, 2014 – Los Angeles, pipeline rupture, 4 sickened[6]
- February 18, 2015 – Torrence, refinery explosion, four injured[7]
- May 19, 2015 – Santa Barbara – Pipeline rupture, large oil spill [8]
Colorado
- Oil spill data are available on Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Spill Analysis website
- August 2001 through 2012 – Trinidad, earthquakes up to magnitude 5.3 [9]
- May 9, 2914 – Weld county, derailment, oil spill [10]
- November 13, 2014 – Weld County, explosion, One dead, Two injured,[11]
Florida
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
Idaho
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
Illinois
- November 20, 2012 – Mokena, Pipe rupture, oil spill in tank farm[12]
- March 5, 2015 – Galena, train derailment, fire, evacuations[13]
Indiana
- About March 26, 2014 – Whiting – Crude oil spill from refinery[14]
Kansas
- November 12, 2014 – Sumner County, epicenter of magnitude 4.8 earthquake[15]
- January 19, 2015 – see OK
Kentucky
- January, 2005 – Carrolton, Crude oil pipeline rupture, oil spill,[16]
- October, 2008 – Burlington, Crude oil pipeline rupture, oil spill, 80 homes evacuated[16]
Louisiana
- July 20, 2010 – Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, 11 dead[17]
- July 22, 2013 – Offshore gas well, 44 workers evacuated[18]
Maryland
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
Michigan
- July 25, 2010 – Near Marshall, massive spill of heavy crude oil from Canada[19]
- September 16, 2014- Benton Harbor, pipeline gas leak, 500 residents evacuated[20]
Mississippi
- June 5, 2006 – Raleigh, oil field explosion, three dead, one injured[21]
Missouri
- April 30, 2013 – Ripley County, crude oil spill from pipeline,[22]
Montana
- July 2, 2011 – 10 miles from Billings, pipeline spill, evacuations[23]
- January 16, 2015 – near Glendive, pipeline rupture [24]
Nebraska
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
Nevada
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[3]
New Mexico
- 18,622 reported spills as of January 13, 2015 on the State of New Mexico Oil Conservation Division web site
- Massive Fracking Explosion in New Mexico, 36 Oil Tanks Catch Fire[25]
New York
1979-2009
- 270 Accidents in the state[26]
After 2009
- August 20, 2014 – Albany, crude oil spill from pipeline,[27]
North Carolina
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 but no accidents have been uncovered.[28]
North Dakota
2006 through Oct. 2014
- Numerous spills, mainly western part of state, at least four injuries[29]
2015
- January 6, 2015 – near Williston, large brine spill (reference to this article contains links to stories of earlier spills)[30]
Ohio
Before 2014
- December 15, 2007 – Geauga County, gas well explosion,[31]
- September 29, 2008 – Medina county, water well pollution[32]
- March 17 – December 24, 2011 – Youngstown, 11 earthquakes near injection wells[33]
- September 2012 to November 2013 –Four eastern Counties, repeated drilling-slurry spills[34]
- November 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013 – Mahoning River, Illegal dumping of fracking waste[35]
- September 30, 2013 – Harrison County, 400 micro-earthquakes[36]
Franklin Township (now called New Franklin) fracking incidents contaminates drinking water wells along Center Rd, Bolender Rd and others. BP quietly paid off homeowners without disclosing all the information about the risks, dates and other critical information. Real estate values and health risks were minimized by BP to a largely blue collar population. Public information regarding this remains hidden. Residents have annual well tests for decades, and still recommended not to drink the well water. Homeowners and past residents, as well as children of homeowners may be adversely affected from consuming toxic well water.
2014
- Twelve accidents, earthquakes, one dead, two injured, about 1000 evacuated [37]
2015
- January 10, 2015 – Lima, Refinery explosion,[38]
- April 3, 2015 – Vienna – Oil spill, water pollution, fish and animal kills[39]
- July 24, 2015 –Trumbull County – Crude oil spill [40]
2016
- February 1, 2016 - Crooksville, Gas leak, 500 evacuated [41]
- March 9, 2016 - Near Barnsville, truck accident, waste water spill [42]
Oklahoma
Accidents
- November 17, 2009 – Elk City, Crane failure,[43]
- December 17, 2014 – Coal County, 2 dead, 2 injured[44]
Earthquakes
- The state has posted a list, giving date, location, and magnitude of induction-well-caused earthquakes.
- February 16, 2014 – Richter 3.8[45]
- November 12, 2014 – earthquake, see Kansas
- January 19, 2015 – Northern Oklahoma[46]
Oregon
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 [47] but no accidents have been uncovered.
- Major crude oil train derailment in Mosier, a small town in the Columbia gorge spilled and burst into flames June 2016. The accident was due to railway disfunction and bad parts. As of now, groundwater contamination is found at the site impacting wildlife.
Pennsylvania
- Records of violations and spills are posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Web page
- February, 2011 – Avila, explosion, 3 injured[48]
- May 19, 2012 – Leroy Twp., Contamination from leaking gas well,[49]
- January 11, 2014 – Susquehanna County, Explosion, 1 injured[50]
- February 11, 2014 - Greene County, Explosion, One injured, One missing,[51]
- September 6, 2014 – Mercer County – Fire, 15 to 20 homes evacuated[52]
South Dakota
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 [47] but no accidents have been uncovered.
Tennessee
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 [47] but no accidents have been uncovered.
Texas
- March 23, 2005 – Texas City, Refinery explosion, 15 dead, 180 injured[53]
- April 5, 2013 – West, blowout, two dead, two injured[54]
- April 30, 2014 – Loving County, explosion, 2 dead, 9 injured[55]
- January 1, 2015 – Irving, earthquake[56]
- August 20, 2015 – Crude oil storage fire [57]
Utah
- June 10, 2012 – Salt Lake City, crude oil pipeline rupture, significant pollution,
Virginia
- April 9, 2014 – Lynchburg, Train derailment, explosion, fire, 300 people evacuated, oil spill[58]
Washington
- State had active oil and or gas wells as of April 2015 [47] but no accidents have been uncovered.
West Virginia
- List of spills is posted on West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection database. Company name is needed to search database.
- June 7, 2010 through January 26, 2015 – Ohio River Valley, Numerous accidents, 2 dead, 7 injured, about 1000 evacuated[48]
- February 5, 2012 – Taylor County, Explosion, One dead[59]
- July 7, 2012 – Dodridge County, Well fire, Five injured,[60]
- February 16, 2015 – Mount Carbon – derailment, one injured, 85 evacuated [61]
Wisconsin
- July 29, 2012 – Pipeline oil spill, one evacuation[62]
Wyoming
- September 24, 2012 – Well blowout[63]
References
- ^ Edward McAllister (8 November 2013). "Train carrying crude oil derails, cars ablaze in Alabama". Reuters. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "Rig Runs Aground in Alaska, Reviving Fears About Arctic Drilling". The New York Times. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f NRDC “Fracking’s Most Wanted, April 2015
- ^ "Arkansas Earthquakes Decline After 'Fracking' Injection Well Closures". The Huffington Post. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ 2013 Mayflower oil spill
- ^ "Pipeline breaks, spills crude oil into Los Angeles neighborhood", Reuters, May 15, 2014
- ^ Los Angeles Times (18 February 2015). "Exxon Mobil explosion in Torrance compounds fears of higher gas prices". latimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Los Angeles Times (20 May 2015). "105,000 gallons of oil may have spilled in Santa Barbara County". latimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ See Wikipedia article 2011 Colorado earthquake
- ^ The Christian Science Monitor (10 May 2014). "Colorado derailment: Six crude oil tankers jump track". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Jesse Paul and Mark Jaffe The Denver Post (13 November 2014). "Fracking blast kills one Halliburton worker, injures 2 in Weld County". Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Aaron Clark (21 November 2012). "BP Chicap Pipe Spilled Oil at Illinois Tank Farm, Filing Shows". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Edward McAllister. "Oil train jumps tracks in Illinois". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "BP raises estimate of Lake Michigan oil spill". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "4.8 quake shakes Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas". USA TODAY. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ a b ‘Oil spill at nature preserve "absolutely terrible"', http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/2014/03/18/crews-investigate-colerain-gas-leak/6554741/, Cincinnati Enquirer, March 19, 2014
- ^ see Wikipedia article: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- ^ Eric Tucker. "Oil-well leak in Gulf of Mexico could go on for 100 years, U.S. says". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ see Wikipedia article: Kalamazoo River oil spill
- ^ "TransCanada Pipeline Rupture Prompts Evacuation Of Benton Harbor". The Huffington Post. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ [1] U.S. Chemical Safety Board. “Case Study, Hot Work Control And Safe Work Practices At Oil And Gas Production Wells, Partridge-Raleigh Smith County Oilfield” June, 2007
- ^ Reuters Editorial (1 May 2013). "Exxon says Missouri oil spills from already-ruptured Pegasus line". Reuters. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Ruptured Pipeline Spills Oil Into Yellowstone River". The New York Times. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "Pipeline breach spills oil into Yellowstone River". Great Falls Tribune. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ EcoWatch. "Massive Fracking Explosion in New Mexico, 36 Oil Tanks Catch Fire". Retrieved 2016-08-02.
- ^ Elmira Star-Gazette, November 8, 2009; http://www.scribd.com/doc/22163083/Drilling-Spills
- ^ "Oil spill at Port of Albany contained", Albany Times Union, August 21, 2014 http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Oil-spill-at-Port-of-Albany-contained-5701410.php
- ^ NRDC:"Fracking’s Most Wanted", April 2015 http://www.nrdc.org/land/drilling/files/fracking-company-violations-IP.pdf NRDC “Fracking’s Most Wanted, April 2015
- ^ "The Downside of the Boom", New York Times, November 23, 2014
- ^ "Williams County brine spill much bigger than originally reported", Grand Forks Herald, January 21, 2015
- ^ http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/portals/oilgas/pdf/bainbridge/DMRM%200%20Title%20Page,%20Preface,%20Acknowledgements.pdf
- ^ Bob Downing. "Three years after drilling, feds say natural gas in Medina County well water is potentially explosive". www.ohio.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Bob Downing. "Northeast Ohio rocked by 11th earthquake linked to Youngstown injection wells". www.ohio.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ Laura Arenschield. "Pipeline company MarkWest fined for repeated spills into Ohio streams". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "Youngstown man admits dumping toxic fracking waste into Mahoning River". cleveland.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "Fracking Triggers More Ohio Earthquakes, Study Finds". NBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ January 23, 2014 – Boston Heights, Gas well explosion and fire Hudson Hub-Times, February 26, 2014; March 10, 2014 – Poland Township, Mahoning County, earthquakes, "New Research Links Scores of Earthquakes to Fracking Wells Near a Fault in Ohio", New York Times, January 8, 2015: ; March 17, 2914 – Oak Glen Nature Preserve, Hamilton County, Crude oil pipeline rupture, oil spill "Oil spill at nature preserve "absolutely terrible"', Cincinnati Enquirer, March 19, 2014;May 4, 2014 – Morgan County, Well leak, Seven evacuated, "Shale well leaks during drilling process, forcing evacuations in Morgan County", Columbus Dispatch, May 8, 2014 ;June 28, 2014 - Monroe County, fire, one injured "Fracking fire points out failings", Columbus Dispatch, August 31, 2014; About August 31, 2014 – near Warren, Injection wells, Earthquake, , "Ohio halts injections at two wells for fracking wastewater after quake" Columbus Dispatch, September 6, 2014; Early September, 2014 – Carroll County, Air pollution, two houses evacuated "Commissioners learn of emissions violation at Blue Racer Plant", News Leader, September 24, 2014;October 19, 2014 – Guernsey County, explosion, one injured "Drilling worker injured in Guernsey County explosion", Akron Beacon Journal, October 27, 2014; October 28, 2014 – Jefferson County, Well blowout, 400 families evacuated, "Most allowed back home after fracking-well blowout in eastern Ohio", Columbus Dispatch, October 30, 2014 Columbus Dispatch, October 30, 2014; October 28, 2014 – Monroe County, pipeline fire Eastern Ohio pipeline hauling toxic mix catches fire", Columbus Dispatch, October 28, 2014; November 12, 2014 – Noble County, Explosion, one dead "Worker killed in explosion at Noble County oil and gas facility", Columbus Dispatch, November 14, 2014 ; December 13, 2014 – Monroe County, Large leak, several families evacuated "Evacuated families in Monroe County await answers on fracking-well gas leak", Columbus Dispatch, December 22, 2014
- ^ "Explosion, fire shake Lima refinery; police say no one hurt". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ [2] "OEPA: 2,000 gallons of waste oil spilled into Vienna wetlands" Youngstown Vindicator, April 4, 2015
- ^ “OEPA investigates oil spill near Shenango River, Youngstown Viddicator, July 24, 2015 “OEPA investigates oil spill near Shenango River", Youngstown Viddicator, July 24, 2015
- ^ "Officials: Valve on gas well caused leak near Crooksville", Zanesville Times Recorder, February 2, 2016 [3]
- ^ Truck overturns, spills drilling wastewater that taints reservoir, Columbus Dispatch, March 9, 2016 [4]
- ^ Oil rig accident in Elk City kills 2 Vici men, NewsOK, November 19, 2009
- ^ UPDATE: Two dead after coal County, Oklahoma oil rig fire Friday, Ponca Post, December 19, 2014
- ^ "Oklahoma Shakes, Is Fracking to Blame?", Time, February 18, 2014
- ^ "Earthquakes rumble in southern Kansas, northern Oklahoma", Wichita Eagle, January Q9, 2015
- ^ a b c d NRDC:"Fracking’s Most Wanted", April 2015
- ^ a b "Over the past five years, the Ohio Valley has seen at least 21 drilling or pipeline-related accidents" Wheeling Intelligencer, February 1, 2015
- ^ "Methane Making An Appearance In Pa. Water Supplies", NPR, August 28, 2012
- ^ Scranton times-Tribune; DEP fines Cabot for January tank explosion caused by cellphone
- ^ "One fire out, second still burning at Chevron natural gas well blast in Greene County" Channel 4 Pittsburgh, February 13, 2014
- ^ "Fire at Mercer County gas well briefly forces evacuation in 1-mile radius", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 6, 2014
- ^ U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Refinery Explosion and Fire. Report No. 2005-04-I-TX , March 2007
- ^ "Two Basic Energy Workers Killed After Texas Well Blowout", Bloomberg News, April 8, 2013
- ^ Los Angeles Times (30 April 2014). "Oil well explosion kills two workers, injures nine in West Texas". latimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "2015 begins with yet another small earthquake near the old Texas Stadium site", Dallas Morning News, January 1, 2015
- ^ ”Lightning ignites fire at Bolivar crude oil facility”, Houston Chronicle, August 20, 2015 http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Lightening-ignites-fire-at-Bolivar-crude-oil-6455203.php
- ^ "The Bad Oil Boom: Train Explodes in Virginia Town While Regulators Chug Along" Bloomberg Businessweek, April 30, 2014
- ^ "West Virginia EQT Explosion Kills Worker At Taylor County Natural Gas Well Pad", AP, February 15, 2013
- ^ "Update: Gas Well Fire Injures 5 Workers in Doddridge County", WBOY.com, July 8, 2013
- ^ "West Virginia oil train derailment: Fires for hours, smoke", Columbus Dispatch, February 17, 2015
- ^ "UPDATE 4-Enbridge to replace leaky Wisconsin oil pipeline Monday", Reuters, July 29, 2012
- ^ "Chesapeake Wyoming well blowout no threat to water – EPA" Reuters, April 26, 2012