Oil and Gas Companies Fund EMS

[Guest guest]

This gives me a whole new feeling about hitting up local businesses to support

what we do...

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, LP

-Attorney/Licensed Paramedic

-Austin, Texas

Oil, Gas Companies Fund Wyo. Ambulance

By BOB MOEN

Associated Press Writer

PINEDALE, Wyo. — Mike Becker works long days as a welder at a natural gas

field so remote that the only light at night comes from scattered drilling rigs

that operate 24 hours a day.

Becker used to worry about what would happen if he was injured. The nearest

hospital is more than an hour's drive away, and it can take more than 30 minutes

just for the ambulance to arrive.

Now, with the help of four oil and gas companies, a specialized ambulance has

been stationed near the fields, drastically cutting emergency response times.

" It's good to have something like that out there, just being that much closer to

where things could happen, " Becker said.

Many oil and gas fields around the world are located in remote areas like

southwest Wyoming or on platforms far offshore. In the United States, companies

are required to have people in the field who are trained to treat injuries, but

accidents requiring emergency care can mean long waits for an ambulance or

helicopter.

" It's definitely a part of the oil and gas industry, but it's definitely an

aspect of rural life in general, " said Cliff , chairman of a voluntary

health and safety organization comprising energy companies in the region.

Recently, four companies — Shell, EnCana, Ultra and BP — contributed

$900,000 toward the new ambulance and a place to house it. Sublette County

chipped in an additional $500,000.

Stationed where two rural highways meet, the ambulance is within 10 miles of two

of the most active gas fields in the state. While it used to take 30 minutes or

more just to reach the entrance to the gas fields, it now takes less than eight

minutes, officials say.

" It's going to make a difference if anything happens out there, " said Wil Gay,

supervisor of the Sublette County Emergency Medical Services.

Working in the oil and gas fields can be dangerous. Huge drilling rigs have

moving parts that can snag clothing and rip off limbs.

" It's not a business for folks who aren't trained, and it's not a business for

folks not following procedures, " said Geoff Sell, an operations manager in

southwest Wyoming for Shell Exploration & Production Co.

Sell estimated that, on any given day, about 1,000 workers are at the two

Sublette County gas fields where Shell and other companies have operations.

Last year, four workers involved in oil and gas drilling died in Wyoming,

according to the state Department of Employment. Nationwide, 35 such workers

died. And an additional four workers in Wyoming and 67 nationwide died doing

drilling support jobs, such as welding.

Besides the dangerous work, the dark, rural roads can be deadly as workers

return home from a long day in the field.

In Wyoming, where the booming energy industry has outstripped the local labor

supply, many rig hands are brought in from out of state and work 12-hour shifts

for 14 straight days.

" There's people who have heart attacks. There's people who get in vehicle

accidents, " Sell said. " All of those things, the length of the response time is

important to the ability to survive an incident. "

The idea for the Sublette County ambulance arose about a year ago during a

meeting of the Rocky Mountain Health, Safety, Environmental Council, which meets

regularly to share information about safety issues and best practices.

" We need to find a way as an industry to provide better care for our workers, "

said , the council's chairman, who oversees worker safety in the region

for Weatherford International Ltd., a Houston-based oil and gas field services

company.

The ambulance costs $217,000 and is bigger than most. It has more room in the

back and a cab with three bucket seats. It also features a battery-powered

extraction tool used to pry apart steel and a 30-gallon tank and fire hose to

extinguish small fires.

The station has a kitchen, exercise area, TV with satellite service, bunkrooms,

laundry facilities and other amenities.

The county covers the annual operating costs of nine full-time medics who staff

the station around the clock.

In its first few weeks of operation earlier this fall, the station handled

nearly a dozen emergency calls, including one in the nearby gas fields and five

car accidents involving oil and gas field workers.

County officials applauded the proactive spirit shown by the four oil and gas

companies. Shell's Sell said competing energy companies are willing to work

together on improving worker safety and health care.

" That's something that people are pretty open to sharing, " he said. " Nobody

wants to see anybody get hurt. "

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