Worker injured in Saturday night explosion at EnCana gas plant

RBC — An employee was injured in an explosion last Saturday night at the EnCana Oil and Gas Dragon Trail natural gas processing plant on County Road 116, about 25 miles south of Rangely.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the blast, which damaged the facility’s control room. The explosion occurred at 10:33 p.m. There was no fire.
“Basically, the control center and a building next to it exploded and inverted,” said Mike Joos, Rio Blanco County undersheriff. “Everything went up and came down upside down. There was one person in the control room. He was injured in the blast. He was taken by Rangely ambulance to Rangely District Hospital. His injuries were non-life threatening.”
The employee suffered an ankle injury and bruises, according to an EnCana news release. He was treated and released.
The plant was shut down immediately following the explosion. As a precautionary measure, portions of County Road 116 remain closed pending completion of the investigation, according to the news release.
“Our focus is on care for the injured worker, the safety of our plant workers, the public and the safe operation of the plant,” said Dean Purcelli, vice president of Midstream Services for EnCana.
Per standard emergency response procedures, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as well as the Department of Homeland Security were notified of the incident, as well as the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
“That’s normal procedure on something like that,” Joos said. “It was believed to be accidental. There was no terrorist attack or anything.”
EnCana plans to repair the facility once the investigation is completed, according to the news release.