Officials report no major injuries as massive drilling rig topples over on Alaska’s North Slope

The Doyon 26 rig in the Fiord Wes Kuparuk resevoir in February 2019. (Judy Patrick / ConocoPhillips Alaska)

A massive drilling rig operating on ConocoPhillips’ behalf toppled over while traveling along a gravel road on Alaska’s North Slope on Friday afternoon, local and company officials said.

No one was seriously injured and all personnel were accounted for in the incident, which occurred around 4:45 p.m. and involved the Doyon 26 rig, ConocoPhillips and the North Slope Borough said in a joint prepared statement.

The resulting fire after the rig toppled over was “contained and controlled” as of Friday evening with emergency responders at the scene, according to their statement.

ConocoPhillips and the borough said that “there was no damage to local community infrastructure and no impact to pipelines or fuel transportation.”

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote on social media that he has “been in contact with ConocoPhillips leadership” and that there “appears to be minimal damage to the environment” so far.

ConocoPhillips was “working on plans to recover the rig,” he wrote.

The Doyon 26 rig, which is nicknamed “The Beast” and was ordered by ConocoPhillips in 2016, set a long-distance drilling record in Alaska in 2022 and helped the producer unlock oil from a section of western North Slope oil fields.

At 9.5 million pounds, it was hailed as the largest mobile land rig in North America with the ability to develop about three times as much area as conventional rigs.

The rig was built by Doyon Drilling, owned by Doyon, an Alaska Native regional corporation.