Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MYTON, Uintah County — A man was killed and another injured when an oil storage tank exploded during routine maintenance Tuesday night.
Tyson Boren, 28, of Neola, was killed when the 400-barrel tank belonging to Newfield Production exploded about 8:30 p.m. Boren was a contract welder with Boren Construction.
Newfield employee Rusty Harris, 32, was injured in the blast and treated at Uintah Basin Medical Center. A water truck driver at the scene escaped injury.
A spokesman for Newfield Production said the company will cooperate with an investigation by local, state and federal investigators to determine what caused the tank to explode. The large tanks are used to store crude oil and other fluids.
The Uintah County Sheriff's Office has restricted access to the site until investigators arrive.
"We've actually pulled everybody out of the area, secured about one half-mile away," Sgt. Bevan Watkins said.
Newfield Production has its Utah headquarters positioned just outside Myton in Duchesne County. The company is the largest producer of crude oil in the state.
A company spokesman said the oil well where the explosion occurred is a producing well, and Newfield Production will be evaluating the site to determine when it is safe to resume operation.
