Man Killed In Drilling Accident
Failures
Video: Foundation drill rig topples and strikes neighboring building
A foundation drill rig toppled over at a condo site in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida and struck an adjacent building. No immediate cause of the accident has been reported, but the region had been experiencing […]
Miscellaneous
Big Stan – Biggest Truck Mounted Drill in the Southwest Busy near Las Vegas
Big Stan is a drill rig like no other. Weighing in at 250,000 lb with a mast 90-ft high, it is the largest truck mounted drill rig in the southwest and possibly one of the […]
Failures
27 Years Ago: Bizarre Drilling Disaster at Lake Peigneur
I thought the 17 27 year anniversary of this unique geological disaster was occasion enough for another look. On November 21, 1980 a Texaco oil rig was drilling an oil exploration well from Lake Peigneur in Southern Louisiana when the drill stem punched into the third level of the nearby Diamond Crystal Salt Company as a result of a miscalculation (understatement!). The lake, approximately 2.5 BILLION gallons, drained into the mine taking the drilling platform with it and another 11 barges, trees, and some of the surrounding terrain. As if that weren’t enough, the Delcambre Canal which normally flows from the lake into Vermillion Bay actually reversed flow for several days and filled the mine and the lake with salt water. It also temporarily created Louisiana’s tallest waterfall at 164-ft (see photo at left). Read on for more info, video, maps, and links.