Midland and other parts of West Texas have been key to the ongoing drilling boom in the Lone Star State. Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

The drilling boom in Texas’ oil and natural gas fields has brought jobs and prosperity, but extracted a bloody human toll.

In Texas,  65 oil and gas workers were killed on the job in 2012  — a 10-year high and 50 percent more than in 2011, according to official government statistics.

At least 18,000 suffered amputations, were crushed, burned, broke bones, got cut or reported other kinds of work-related illnesses and injuries in the drilling and fracking boom from 2008 to 2013. Many were hurt in work-related driving accidents; others in the oil fields. Few of the non-fatal accidents were investigated. Click here to read more about the Houston Chronicle’s exclusive report.

As part of this investigation, the Chronicle contacted representatives of oil and gas employers who reported paying the highest amounts in response to workers’ injury and illness claims that resulted in lost work time  from 2008-2012. Explore the database below to view the top 100 Texas oilfield employers in terms of total benefits paid to workers who missed work because they suffered injures or work-related illnesses.

Here’s more information about the top 12 Texas companies in terms of the total amount they paid to workers for oilfield-related injury and illness claims that resulted in more or one day of work lost. The newspaper asked each company to review the data we analyzed and to provide information about the size of their Texas’ operations and their safety policies to learn more about the issues. Some companies provided insights and information – and some refused or didn’t respond at all.

1. Nabors Industries Inc. (includes Nabors Drilling USA and Nabors Well Services):  286 claims totaling $10,277,374 in benefits paid from 2008-2012; six fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007 – four for Nabors Drilling and two for Nabors Well Services.

Employer operations in Texas: Major drilling and well services company with an average of 6,375 Texas employees in 2012; 85 land rigs and 145 workover/well servicing rigs deployed in Texas in 2012.  Had a fleet of 2,230 vehicles in 2012, 955 heavy trucks.

Company quote: “One reason Nabors’ aggregate workers’ compensation amounts are the highest is because our employee and asset base is multiple times larger than that of many of our peer companies…In 2012, we achieved our best safety record ever – a total recordable incidence rate across our global operations of 1.18 incidents per 200,000 man hours. Through strong teamwork and a relentless commitment to excellence, our employees outperformed IADC’s U.S. land drilling standard (1.97) as well as the OGP’s 2012 total recordable injury rate for drilling companies…”

Read Nabors’ full response.

2. Basic Energy Services Inc.:  374 claims totaling $9,102,837 in benefits paid 2008-2012; four fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Employer operations in Texas: Major well service, drilling and support company with 3,800 Texas employees and 12 drilling rigs in 2012; fleet of 2,300 trucks – half heavy  trucks and half pickups. Operates in all the Texas shale plays.

Company quote: “Employee safety is our number one priority at Basic Energy Services. Our safety mission grants our employees the authority to slow down or shut down an operation they believe may jeopardize the safety of people, property or the environment. We provide training and equipment resources for a safe work environment for our employees and any third party personnel that may share work environments with us.”

Read Basic Energy’s  full response.

3. SPN Fairway Acquisition Inc. (now Superior Energy Services): 181 claims totaling $7,367,416 in benefits paid 2008-2012; one fatality reported to OSHA since 2007.

Superior Energy Services did not respond to requests for comment on the size and scope of their Texas operations or their safety record.

4. Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.: 217 claims totaling $7,339,793 2008-2012; six fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Employer operations in Texas: One of the nation’s largest drilling companies with about 6,000 employees in Texas, about 125 drilling rigs operating in all of Texas’ shale plays and a fleet of trucks.

Company quote: “The safety of our employees and others is our highest priority. Over the last 10 years, we have invested more than $150 million on training and equipment to improve the workplace and make it safer for our employees. In addition, every new rig-based employee undergoes training of up to three weeks in which safety is a top priority before they ever set foot on a job site. At Patterson-UTI our recruiting, training and on-boarding policies, procedures and supervision meet or exceed industry standards.”

Read Patterson-UTI’s  full response.

5. Key Energy Services Inc/Key Energy Services LLC: 401 claims totaling $5,969,830 from 2008-2012; two fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Key Energy Services declined comment on on the size and scope of its Texas operations or safety record.

6. Endeavor Energy Resources LP (includes ACME Energy Services DBA Big Dog Drilling): 310 claims totaling $5,428,501 from 2008-2012; three fatalities involving Big Dog Drilling reported to OSHA since 2007.

Endeavor Energy Resources did not respond to requests for comment. The company is a well operator and a driller, and Endeavor Energy often uses Big Dog’s services at its well sites.

7. Halliburton Energy Services Inc.: 330 claims totaling $4,225,371 from 2008-2012; two fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. did not provide information in response to requests for comment.

8. SandRidge Energy Inc (includes Lariat Services and Viking Drilling): 176 claims totaling $4,193,530 from 2008-2012; no recent reported fatalities.

Employer operations in Texas: Both a driller and a well operator, this company employed nearly 1,000 workers in Texas in 2012 under the SandRidge E & P and Lariat Services names. A well operator with 2,000 well leases in the Permian Basin region as of August 2013. Operated 17 drilling rigs under the Viking Drilling name as well as a fleet of 865 trucks.

Company quote: “To get a clear picture of SandRidge’s safety record in comparison to our peers, it’s important to benchmark against similar companies. SandRidge is one of only a few companies that engages in exploration and production activities as well as midstream services and full service drilling operations support including drilling fluids, roustabout crews, pulling units, rig transportation services and drilling construction services.  Injury statistics may be directly correlated to the level of drilling activity a company is performing in addition to other factors such as company size and type. “

Read SandRidge’s full response

9. Precision Drilling Corp (includes Gray Wolf Drilling): 131 claims totalling $3,854,015 from 2008-2012; one fatality reported to OSHA since 2007 (that death involved a Gray Wolf Drilling accident that occurred before the company was acquired by Precision Drilling)

Employer operations in Texas: A major driller that describes itself as a leading provider of oilfield services. Precision employed about 1,900 workers in Texas in 2013; 2,822 nationwide.  Averaged 40 active rigs in 2012 deployed in all of Texas’ major shale plays. Employs 100 drivers in a trucking division focused on moving rigs.

Company quote: “Precision Drilling has been very focused on reducing its occupational injuries through its Target Zero safety programs, which were implemented in 2009, following the December 23, 2008 acquisition of Grey Wolf…occupational injuries (were) reduced by 66% from 2010 to 2012.”

Read Precision Drilling’s full response 

10. CC Forbes Energy Services Ltd/Forbes Energy Services Ltd. 106 claims totaling $3,598,623  2008-12; one fatality reported to OSHA since 2007.

Forbes did not respond to requests for comment.

11. Helmerich & Payne Inc.: 112 claims totaling $3,235,681 from 2008-12; three fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Employer operations in Texas: H & P, a major drilling company, reported operating 177 rigs on average in 2013.

Company quote: “Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. (H&P) can confirm a steady increase in drilling activity in Texas from 2008 to present in each of the Texas shale plays that you listed.  We would like to note that H&P’s safety performance during this period has led the drilling industry to all-time low injury and fatality rates.  H&P’s Total Recordable Injury  Rate (TRIR) as measured by U.S. Dept of Labor (OSHA) and Bureau of Labor Statistics has been 60-65% below the U.S. Land drilling industry average during this period. ”

Read more of the company’s statement.

12.  Robinson Drilling of Texas LTD.: 237 claims totaling $2,933,079 from 2008-2012; five fatalities reported to OSHA since 2007.

Employer operations in Texas: A regional driller that operates primarily in the Permian Basin, Robinson currently has about 20 drilling rigs. The family-run company operated under a receivership in 2012 and was sold and reorganized in 2013 under a different ownership structure.

Company quote: “Please be assured that RDOT is extremely concerned with the well being of our employees and have put tremendous effort and resources into the safety of our operations. We have hired a former area director of OSHA to manage our safety programs which includes a staff of six full-time safety professionals and a dedicated drilling rig for training employees.” Read more here.

- Information compiled by Lise Olsen and Yang Wang, staff writers. Representatives of all of the employers listed above were contacted repeatedly via e-mail or via- phone.

NOTE:  Department of Insurance information provides summary data only. Information on individual workers’ claims is not public record and workers’ privacy is protected. Data for each employers total claims for each year was provided in response to the Chronicle’s records request, but the information excluded small companies that reported extremely small numbers of claims to protect worker privacy.