WATFORD CITY, N.D. – One worker has died and three were injured in a fire at a McKenzie County oil well site over the weekend, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday.
Crews were working on a workover rig on a well east of Watford City when the well ignited about 8:30 a.m. Saturday, said Eric Brooks, director of the Bismarck area OSHA office.
An employee of Most Wanted Well Service died, Brooks said, declining to identify the worker until family has been notified.
Two workers suffered third-degree burns on 70 percent of their bodies and the third worker suffered burns to the face, Brooks said, citing initial reports.
Workers from multiple employers were at the site owned by XTO Energy, Brooks said.
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OSHA has launched an investigation and an inspector will be at the site today, Brooks said.
Alison Ritter, spokeswoman for the Department of Mineral Resources, said crews were working on a well that had recently been fracked when the well “experienced a kick of gas” on Saturday morning.
This is the second oil and gas fatality in North Dakota in 2016, Brooks said.
