On January 22, 2018, a rig explosion near Quinton, Oklahoma claimed the lives of five workers, marking the deadliest incident in the U.S. oil and gas industry since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. In light of the continued growth in U.S. production, these incidents and many others are tragic reminders of the extreme risks faced by workers in the oil and gas industry, and the continuing need for innovation in safety systems and technologies to keep pace with the needs of this growing workforce.
Between 2003 and 2014, the oil and gas extraction industry suffered 1,331 fatalities. This amounts to 25 deaths per 100,000 workers each year, a rate more than seven times the national average for all industries.