Explosion injures worker at Collorado oil and gas well.

A worker has been injured in an explosion at a oil and gas drilling site in Weld County, Colorado, on Friday 22 December 2017. The incident happened slightly before 9.00 pm at the Extraction Oil & Gas operated plant, which is on the outskirts of the city of Windsor, triggering multiple fires which were not all extinguished until 1.00 pm the next day. The cause of the incident is still being investigated.

Fires burning at an oil drilling facility outside Windsor, Colorado, on 22 December 2017. Fox 31 Denver.

Firefighters from Windsor Severance Fire Rescue who attended the site initially had trouble controlling the fire, due to an absence of fire hydrants at the facility, which required them to divert water from a main providing domestic supplies. The fire was eventually brought under control with the aid of firefighters from several neighbouring services, using a foam extinguishing agent that covers burning material, excluding oxygen from the sites of the fire. About 7275 litres of this substance were used, which since it is diluted with water before use, would indicate the use of about 150  000 litres of water.

Column of smoke and fire over an oil drilling facility outside Windsor, Colorado, on 22 December 2017. Hyrum Griffin/The Coloradoan.

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Oil spill near La Salle, Colorado, following train derailment.

Cleanup crews from the Colorado State Patrol and Environmental Protection Agency have been dealing with a 25 000 liter crude oil spill following a train derailment near the South Platte river near the town of La Salle in Weld County, Colorado, at about 9.30 am on Friday 9 May 2014. Six of one hundred oil cars on the train left the tracks, one of which was ruptured and shed part of its load. It is thought that none of the oil reached the river, after a substantial amount of oil was vacuumed up; a large quantity of topsoil will also have to be removed before the decontamination process is complete.

The scene at the Weld County derailment near the South Platte river on Friday 9 May 2014. CBS Denver.

As well as the spilled oil the oil contained in the overturned cars will need to be removed before they can be righted; this is likely to present some technical problems as the trucks are not designed to be emptied while inverted. The train was carrying Niobrara crude from Windsor in north Colorado to New York. The cause of the derailment has yet to be determined.

The approximate location of the 9 May 2014 Weld County derailment. Google Maps.

Trains carrying crude oil have become an increasingly important part of the distribution system in North America as both production of and demand for oil has exceeded the capacity of the pipeline network. There have been a number of incidents involving derailments and oil spills, and concerns about the safety of the trains following an incident in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a 72 car oil train derailed and exploded, killing 47 people.

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 Major fire after oil train derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Firefighters are battling a major blaze after a train carrying crude oil was derailed by the James River in Lynchburg, Virginia, at about 2 pm local time on Wednesday 30 April 2014. The train was traveling from Chicago to Virginia when the incident occurred, with 12-14 oil cars from the 15 car train leaving the track and about four being...

 City evacuated after train derailmet causes huge oil explosion.

The city of Casselton, North Dakota, has been evacuated after a train derailment led to a huge oil explosion on Monday 30 December 2013. The incident happened slightly after 2 pm local time (slightly...

 Massive oil explosions in Quebec.

A runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, at about 1.00 am local time (4.00 am GMT) on Saturday 6 July 2013, causing a series of massive...

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