There are readily available hydrogen sulfide (H2S) mitigation treatments and technologies, yet hundreds of thousands of Texans still live close enough to oil and gas wells to risk exposure to hazardous levels of the lethal gas. There were 219 H2S-related deaths in Texas between 2014 and 2019. OSHA says hydrogen sulfide exposure has killed dozens of Texas workers in the last decade, including at least 60 deaths in the oil and gas industry alone.
The issue is so prevalent that last November, Landman Season 2, Episode 3 aired a dramatized depiction of an H2S gas leak is based on real, fatal hazards in the Texas oil industry. In the episode, several hunters came within proximity of a gas leak from a damaged oil tank. All perished.
- In August 2025, three men died from H2S exposure as they attempted to repair a sewage leak in a manhole in Westwood Shoals, northeast of Houston.
- In February 2025, in the Permian Basin, the most productive oilfield in the world, a satellite spectrometer picked up signs of a gaseous discharge of more than 1,400 kilograms of methane (CH4) per hour. (Hydrogen sulfide and methane are often produced together in anaerobic environments.)
- In October 2024, approximately 27,000 pounds of H2S leaked at the PEMEX Deer Park Refinery located along the Houston Ship Channel. It killed two contractors and injured dozens.
- Also in 2024, a study found levels of H2S “off the scales” in Caldwell County, Texas, near Austin and San Antonio. The first H2S readings in 2021 were so high that it was thought that the equipment was malfunctioning.
Chronic and acute H2s exposure risks continue to rise in Texas despite being entirely preventable.
Houston-based Merichem Technologies draws on more than 75 years of knowledge, expertise, and skills in treating and eliminating sulfur contaminants across the upstream, midstream, and downstream oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. They are happy to share practical information and best practices with readers of this magazine.
Merichem Technologies is run by Cyndie Fredrick, a female CEO with both an engineering degree and an MBA. Her engineering background provides a foundation for understanding complex systems and problems, while her MBA enhances leadership and business management skills essential for leading an organization that supplies catalysts, chemicals, adsorbents, and engineered solutions for sulfur removal, caustic treating, and spent caustic treatment.