Murphy Oil Corporation

Murphy Oil Corporation is an energy exploration and production company. Murphy does dangerous work, but it claims to be committed to safety and environmental responsibility. It has several safety incidents on its records, though, as well as lawsuits brought by workers who were injured and some even killed on the job.

About Murphy Oil Corporation

Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, Murphy Oil Corporation is an energy company devoted to exploration and production. Much of the company’s work happens in offshore settings, which is very dangerous.

Murphy is a company located in the U.S. but operates globally. In addition to the Arkansas headquarters, Murphy has locations in Texas, Canada, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia.

With over 1,200 employees, this large international company has access to over 700 million barrels of oil equivalent, which includes crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum.

Murphy Oil History

The original company was Murphy Corporation, founded in 1950 in Louisiana. The modern name, Murphy Oil Corporation, came in 1964 when the company reincorporated in Delaware.

• Murphy discovered its first oil field in 1921 in Arkansas, and the oil business took off from there.
• In the 1950s, it began exploring for oil in Western Canada and found fields in Montana.
• It was in 1953 that the company first tackled offshore exploration and drilling with a submersible drilling barge that could take rigs out to deeper waters.
• The backbone of the company’s offshore resources for decades would first be tapped in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1960s, the Eugene Island and South Pelto fields.
• Murphy grew by expanding its international reach to the North Sea, Malaysia, and other locations as the years went on and by buying up other companies.
• Most recently, the company sold its refineries to focus more on drilling and exploration and tapped its first deep water wells on Malaysia’s coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

Operations and Services

Murphy has always been a company dedicated to exploring oil and gas fields, which is its biggest strength and asset today. The company explores four critical regions worldwide:

• The Gulf of Mexico
• Australia
• Southeast Asia
• The Atlantic Margin

Murphy is considered a successful offshore exploration company with technical experience and the ability to transition quickly from discovering a field to making it productive.

Murphy Corporate Responsibility

Naturally, the work of exploring and tapping offshore oil fields is dangerous. Many risks are involved, from transporting workers to platforms to moving big rigs and setting up platforms to operating drills and other large pieces of equipment.

To conduct business as safely as possible, a company like Murphy must take responsibility for worker safety.

The company operates under an HSE-MS, also known as a Health, Safety, and Environmental  Management System. This single operating policy is used throughout the company to ensure that the same safety and environmental responsibility principles guide far-reaching employees everywhere.

For safety, the HSE-MS relies on eleven main points:

• Managers and employers are committed to protection
• Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities
• Compliance is assured
• Risk is managed
• Facilities are designed and constructed with safety in mind
• Operational maintenance is essential
• Contractors are well managed
• Workers are trained and competent
• Emergency plans are in place
• Incidents are reported and investigated
• These lead to constant evaluations and improvement

Murphy’s Safety Incidents

Despite its detailed and thoughtful plans for safety and responsibility, Murphy Oil Corporation has faced several incidents involving injured workers and even killed workers.

As the employer Murphy is responsible for making workplaces as safe as is reasonably possible. Employees know they work in a dangerous industry, but they expect the company to take all steps to prevent accidents.

Worker Fatality

One terrible incident occurred in 2002, leaving one worker dead and another severely burned. The two men were pipe fitters working for a company contracted by Murphy to work at one of its refineries. The widow and wife of these two workers filed lawsuits against Murphy and the other company involved.

After a maintenance shutdown at the refinery, it was discovered that a part that should not have been was left on. The two men and a third, uninjured worker were asked to remove it.

While doing so, flammable liquid spilled onto the man who died, setting him on fire. He died terribly, while the second worker suffered severe burns to his face and neck.

An investigation found that Murphy and the company the men worked for were both negligent and had received previous safety citations similar to what caused the terrible accident.

Back and Neck Injuries

Another incident occurred in 2015 aboard a drill rig ship called the Discoverer Deep Seas. A worker was being transported to the vessel by the bucket when that bucket was struck. The worker suffered shoulder, neck, and back injuries as a result.

The man has sued Murphy and another company involved, accusing them of not ensuring that the vessel was seaworthy, that they failed to warn him of possible dangers, and that they were negligent in his injuries.

Maritime Law and Workers’ Rights

The man injured in the bucket was well within his rights to demand compensation from his employer. As a maritime worker, he has a right to assume that the vessel aboard which he works will be maintained for seaworthiness. 

When a maritime company doesn’t live up to that end of the bargain, seamen and other maritime workers can seek compensation. They may consult maritime laws to ensure they get the compensation they need after an accident.

If you have been injured in the maritime industry, consult a professional maritime lawyer to get the advice you need about proceeding with a lawsuit and demanding damages for your injuries.