By
The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, N.M. - An oil rig blew out yesterday morning, bursting into flames and injuring three workers, one critically.
A crew was working on the Timber Sharp Rig No. 10 when it blew out at about 7:20 a.m., state police Lt. Larry Rogers said. The cause was unknown.
The three workers suffered thermal burns, and "we have an oil rig completely engulfed in flames," he said. Nearby fuel tanks were threatened, and the heat was so intense crews could not get close to fight the fire, he said.
The rig is operated by Pogo Producing of Midland, Texas, but company spokesman Jerry Cooper said he believes the three injured men worked for another company on the site.
Drilling was at the 8,385-foot level at the time of the blast. The site is in a remote desert area of Bureau of Land Management property south of Brantley Lake State Park.
The men were taken to Carlsbad Medical Center, where they were stabilized for helicopter transfer to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital, Carlsbad hospital spokeswoman Simona Bibby said.
Authorities evacuated nearby workers, Rogers said.
"We have some concerns with a tank nearby with 7,600 gallons of diesel fuel that may very well go," he said. "We have 450 gallons of motor oil that may very well go."
In addition, the area contains 300 pounds of a hazardous chemical called magnafiber, used as a hardening agent in well holes, he said.
"Something major malfunctioned to cause this," Rogers said.
"The intensity of heat this thing is producing is something you want to stay well away from," he said. "We may have to wait out this thing to put it out."
The names of the injured workers, ages 40, 28 and 24, were not immediately released. One is from Carlsbad; the others are from Odessa, Texas, Bibby said.
