Severe Work-Related Injuries in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry — 32 Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Jurisdictions, United States, January 2015–July 2022

Results

A total of 82,366 work-related severe injuries were reported to OSHA during January 2015–July 2022; among these, 2,101 (2.6%) were reported by the OGE industry. The highest number of severe injury reports was reported by contract OGE employers. Oil and gas operations support activities personnel in well-servicing companies accounted for 1,473 (70.1%) of these 2,101 injuries, followed by oil and gas well drillers (491; 23.4%) (Table 1). Among oil and gas operators, 137 (6.5%) severe injuries were reported, including 110 (5.2%) among Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas Extraction subindustry operators and 27 (1.3%) by the Natural Gas Liquid Extraction subindustry.

Temporal and Geographic Distribution of Severe Injuries

OGE severe injury reports for all subindustries fluctuated during the study period; the highest number was reported in 2018 (395), and the lowest (excluding 2022, which includes data only through July) occurred in 2020 (144). Among all severe injury reports, the highest number of amputations (417, accounting for 19.8% of reports) and hospitalizations (1,194; 56.8%) were reported among oil and gas subindustry support activities personnel in the well-servicing companies sector (163; 7.7%), followed by drilling contractors (375; 17.8%). Only 22 (1.0%) severe injury reports in OGE involved an eye injury, with oil and gas subindustry support activities personnel reporting 19 (86.4%) of these.

Among reporting jurisdictions, Texas recorded the highest number of severe injuries within OGE (1,134; 54%), followed by North Dakota (221; 10.5%) and Oklahoma (171; 8.1%). Severe injury reports occurred most frequently in July (228; 10.8%) and January (224; 10.7%).

Body Part Involved and Nature of Severe Injuries

Analysis of injuries by involved body part found that 895 (42.6%) of all severe injury reports involved an upper extremity, 771 (86.1%) of which involved the hands; 376 (17.9%) severe injury reports involved a lower extremity, including 254 (67.6%) involving the legs (Table 2). Approximately 10% of injuries among OGE contract workers involved multiple body parts (200) or the trunk (216). In addition, contract workers in well-servicing companies recorded the highest number of hand injuries (520, accounting for 24.8% of all severe injuries) and leg injuries (183; 8.7%). Most injuries were classified as traumatic injuries and disorders (2,090; 99.5%) with open wounds (740; 35.2%), traumatic injuries to bones, nerves, and spinal cord (589; 28.0%), and other traumatic injuries and disorders (307; 14.6%) accounting for the three leading injury types. Most incidents were caused by contact with objects and equipment (1,280; 60.9%), followed by slips, trips, and falls (370; 17.6%) (Figure).

Sources of Severe Injuries

Machinery was the leading source of injury (633; 30.1%) among OGE contractors and operators, with construction, logging, and mining machinery accounting for 483 of these injuries (23.0% of all injuries). The second most common cause of injury involved parts and materials (460; 21.9%), followed by structures and surfaces (174; 8.3%). Among these, building materials-solid elements (187; 8.9%) was the leading source of injury. Vehicles*** were involved in 157 (7.5%) severe injuries and were the third highest source of injury among contractors in well-servicing companies, accounting for 131 (6.2%) injuries among these groups. Highway motorized vehicles^††† (e.g., passenger vehicles, trucks, and multipurpose vehicles) accounted for 101 (4.8%) severe injuries. Overall, 430 (20.5%) injuries involved oil drilling rigs and machinery, and several involved other equipment, including pipes, ducts, and tubing (101; 4.8%), machine and appliance parts (67; 3.2%), heat-environmental equipment (52; 2.5%), and hoses (37; 1.8%).