State regulators indicate most of the destroyed oil rig that blew up last month near Quinton, Oklahoma killing 5 men has been dragged from the site as the probe into the cause remains underway.
A report from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission was released this week.
“Rig has been skidded out of the way of BOP,” stated the report, an apparent indication of the blowout preventer that was on the site of the Patterson rig 219 when it exploded and burned on Jan. 22, 2018. “Crews are prepping sub structure to be lowered and removed from site. Annular section of BOP is being removed at this time and preserved for inspection.”
The incident and complaint investigation report released by the Corporation Commission said about 90% of the rig has been removed from the wellhead area. But the wreckage has been staged no the edge of the location.
A week ago, a trucking firm had removed the mud pumps, auxiliary houses and most backyard equipment. It was on Feb. 5 when OSHA released the rig to be scrapped and a third party company had been hired to document each piece to be preserved.
Some pollution was also reported as a result of the explosion that was caused apparently by an uncontrolled gas release. Some diesel fuel had leached into a creek because of the soil farming operation as of last month. The Corporation Commission started removal of all contaminants from the creek and reported that as of Feb. 12, “approximately 90% of soil farming has been completed.”