MCALESTER, Okla. - An Oklahoma jury has found a Houston-based company 10% responsible for a January 2018 explosion and fire that killed five men. The Pittsburg County jury on Monday ordered National Oilwell Varco to pay $1 million each to the estates of Josh Ray of Fort Worth, Texas, and Cody Risk of Wellington, Colorado. Those were Red Mountain Operating; Red Mountain Energy LLC; Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC; and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.NOV argued that the other companies and Ray shared the blame. It was about taking the case to the jury and allowing it to apportion responsibility,” Jeff Wigington, an attorney for Ray’s family told The Oklahoman. The Jan. 22, 2018, explosion, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) southeast of Tulsa, was the deadliest drilling accident since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 people.

Source: thestar January 29, 2020 16:18 UTC