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A privately owned and operated drilling contractor based in Alberta is facing eight charges after one worker was seriously injured on site in July 2024.
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An investigation by Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) was launched into Twilight Drilling Ltd. following the incident, which unfolded at an undisclosed worksite near the northern hamlet of Beaverlodge, 523 kilometres north of the company’s Nisku home base.
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Two workers were beneath a rig at the time the injury occurred, each assigned different jobs. One of the them activated a machinery control, and when they did, the other worker was caught in a support chain and seriously injured.
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OHS submitted the charges in June this year after the investigation process was completed. Now the company will answer to the charges requiring specific planning, training and procedures that prevent injuries or lessen the likelihood that incidents happen.
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The first two charges fall under Section 3(1) of the Alberta OHS Act, related to an employer’s general obligations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all workers in the vicinity.
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Section 3(2) addresses a failure on behalf of an employer to ensure workers are adequately trained in all matters that would ensure they know how to work safely.
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OHS inspectors also applied the Occupational Health and Safety Code sections:
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- Section 9(1), the failure to identify existing or potential hazards and using the hierarchy of controls to reduce or eliminate the risk to workers from moving parts.
- Section 64 (1) the failure to secure a lifting device and ensuring a BOP handling system was operated by a competent worker authorized by the employer.
- Section 310(2) Failing to provide safeguards to prevent a worker from coming into contact with moving parts, a BOP (blow out preventer) system.
- Section 3.3 for failing to ensure the worker made the area safe and determined no one else would be negatively affected by initiating a process.
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Information from the employer records portal provided by the Alberta government shows the company managed numerous disabling injury claims between 2020 and 2023.
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An Alberta government record confirms the company has a Certificate of Recognition (COR) from Energy Safety Canada and that the company underwent an external audit of its safety program and practices in 2025.
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A request for comment went unanswered at the time of publishing. The company’s website does provide a statement about its commitment to health and safety.
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“Twilight Drilling’s mission is to continually improve our safety performance along with our fellow colleagues’ performance,” it states. “We devote a significant amount of time to training, mentorship, and development designed to help both ourselves and our clients maintain zero incidents involving our people, equipment, or the environment.”
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Tina Kennedy
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