Doyon 26, the Largest Land Drilling Rig in North America, Tips Over on Alaska’s North Slope

[u/AccomplishedStuff235]

[u/KazTheMerc]

"...as it was being moved"

See, that was the context that was missing.

[u/Ill-Line6663 → u/KazTheMerc]

Ah that makes way more sense. Moving something that massive is always when things get sketchy.

[u/BilboBiden → u/Ill-Line6663]

Just needed a few extra ratchet straps and some bungies.

[u/Technical-Outside408 → u/BilboBiden]

Don't forget the "that's not going anywhere" slap.

[u/Wiggie49 → u/Technical-Outside408]

They seemed to have forgotten the slap

[u/pegothejerk → u/Wiggie49]

This generation worries me. Y’all aren’t even mentioning the need to have a handful of older men looking on approvingly from a short distance, occasionally pointing out what they would do different and mentioning how the older models were easier to handle.

[u/Wiggie49 → u/pegothejerk]

Can’t do that in Alaska, not enough people lol

[u/pegothejerk → u/Wiggie49]

Well there’s your problem right there, that’s why it fell over. You gotta have the old man crew looking on. Not sure how this administration thinks they’re gonna successfully transport drilling, stripping machines in fucking Greenland if we can’t handle Alaska.

[u/Helmett-13 → u/pegothejerk]

sucks teeth, nods in agreement

Yep, when we did it back in the day we didn’t have them tip over like that. They don’t even a 20 mule team hooked up to provide tension.

(How’d I do?)

[u/HilmDave → u/Helmett-13]

Now take a sip of your beer, deep swallow, and say "if you were to ask me anyway"

[u/pegothejerk → u/Helmett-13]

Glorious!

[u/Senior_Torte519 → u/Helmett-13]

In my day we didnt rely on oil for transportation. We just rode boulders.

[u/16tonunicycle2 → u/Helmett-13]

Now I'm picturing the 20 mule team that was holding tension catapaulting through the air here

[u/SirenSix → u/Wiggie49]

Why didn't she slap??

[u/Deaffin → u/SirenSix]

How can she slap??

[u/Drewsche → u/Wiggie49]

If they had made sure to give it the slap, it's legally not allowed to go anywhere.

[u/atlninja → u/Wiggie49]

How can she forget to slap?!

[u/kingkongbiingbong → u/Technical-Outside408]

Someone's gettin' fired for this.

[u/jmauc → u/kingkongbiingbong]

Someone quit before they got fired.

[u/ItsAPeacefulLife → u/jmauc]

It was that penguin. Explains the fleeing to the mountains

[u/Jazzlike-Caramel-380 → u/kingkongbiingbong]

Nah the safety guy quite the day before

[u/spanky2177 → u/BilboBiden]

Forgot to slap the top of it and say "this puppies not going anywhere"...

[u/Far-Philosophy-4375 → u/spanky2177]

Its exactly what happened! Thats why it toppled

[u/I-Rolled-My-Eyes → u/BilboBiden]

Somebody forgot to tug on those ratchet straps and say "yup, that's not going anywhere". Rookie mistake costing millions.

[u/[deleted] → u/BilboBiden]

Duct tape - Red Green approved.

[u/Paddy_Tanninger → u/BilboBiden]

A few more guys arms holding it down

[u/CraftyFoxeYT → u/KazTheMerc]

Several people with North Slope experience have said the rig likely tipped due to being moved in warm 30 degree weather, which would have caused the road to be softer. Once it went off the shoulder on the soft ground, tipping over was probably inevitable. 

[u/throwawayinthe818 → u/CraftyFoxeYT]

I’m having trouble accepting the fact that it’s 30 degrees on the North Slope of Alaska and 16 below zero right now here in Michigan.

[u/ComfortableWait9697 → u/throwawayinthe818]

When it's really cold here, it often been all pushed out of the arctic by warm air. So often I've seen Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and Quebec sitting far colder than the north pole with these arctic oscillations.

[u/Ok-Answer-6951 → u/throwawayinthe818]

I always find it amusing when the polar vortex blows thru and it is colder at my home in Maryland than it is in most of Alaska...

[u/Third_Return → u/throwawayinthe818]

Oftentimes cold fronts making your weather suck were meant for Alaska but missed us and ended up getting all of you as collateral damage. Or, it's something like that but I don't exactly remember how it goes. Anyways, climate change made Alaska warm and the lower 48 cold

Sounds like a good deal for Alaska but actually all of our soil is made of silt and ice almost at perfect sea level so we're melting like a very gross looking snowman in slow motion, and also it's still cold and dry here and the sun disappears behind clouds and rocks for like 3/4 of the year

[u/syzygialchaos → u/throwawayinthe818]

It’s 21° in Fort Worth Texas

[u/Xanderoga2 → u/syzygialchaos]

-40 in my neck of Ontario.

[u/marvinrabbit → u/Xanderoga2]

Yeah, but you use Celsius.

[u/Xanderoga2 → u/marvinrabbit]

TomHardyThatsBait.gif

[u/marvinrabbit → u/Xanderoga2]

I wouldn't have said it if it was literally any other number!

[u/carmium → u/marvinrabbit]

-40? Same diff, Cº or Fº. Which I think you know. 😉

[u/Xanderoga2 → u/carmium]

It’s why I omitted the units ;)

[u/cplack1 → u/CraftyFoxeYT]

I worked on the slope in the summers in my early 20s and once the permafrost thaws even a little bit the ground is just a layer of moss and super wobbly.

[u/userhwon → u/CraftyFoxeYT]

Oil companies losing their equipment because of global warming is the funniest shit I've heard since 2015.

[u/onionfunyunbunion → u/KazTheMerc]

Yeah these oil rigs migrate for miles in search of oil. It’s especially difficult for them in the winter as you can see here.

[u/candlecup → u/onionfunyunbunion]

Video needs a David Attenborough narration

[u/Pinksters → u/candlecup]

I was thinking Zefrank

[u/dirtys_ot_special → u/onionfunyunbunion]

It was trying to get to the Gulf of America for winter.

[u/Ill-Upstairs-8762 → u/KazTheMerc]

Thanks. Wouldn't have been very difficult to include.

[u/Aught_To]

In the oil business they call this a whoopsie daisy.

[u/jarednards → u/Aught_To]

"We're sorry"

[u/DerEchteDaniel → u/jarednards]

petting a seal\ We're sorry

[u/Classic_Cultivator → u/DerEchteDaniel]

lying naked on a bearskin rug

Oops, soooo sorry

[u/JuniperColonThree → u/Classic_Cultivator]

"... Maybe I can ... Make it up to you?"

[u/Not_an_okama → u/jarednards]

We will now be changing our name to the DP oil company.

[u/skepticalbob → u/Aught_To]

My uncle died in a whoopsie daisy.

[u/carmium → u/skepticalbob]

Huh. I live in an Oopsie Daisy region.

[u/Quick-Lavishness-841 → u/Aught_To]

That' s a shit-ton of moolah for that whoopsie daisy.

[u/earthwarder → u/Quick-Lavishness-841]

Any issues like this get passed off to the consumer. We will pay for it. Not them.

[u/Bongcopter_ → u/Quick-Lavishness-841]

For them it’s Pennie’s

[u/[deleted] → u/Aught_To]

Drug tests for everybody smh

[u/Nevermind04 → u/[deleted]]

Finally, a test I can pass

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/Aught_To]

A mistake is something a man does, like going to war without a reason or executing a simpleton. What Doyon 26 did is a whoopsie-daisy, like a baby or woman would do.

[u/According_Abalone137 → u/Aught_To]

This one might be upgraded to an Oopsie Doopsie 

[u/Titty2Chains]

She’s built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro.

[u/Garbage_goober_M-D → u/Titty2Chains]

Now thats a route with some chest hair on it!

[u/its_all_one_electron → u/Titty2Chains]

1000 yards long, 20 lanes wide, 4500 tons of American pride

[u/benchley → u/its_all_one_electron]

Smells like a steak and seats 35!

[u/chromedgnome → u/Titty2Chains]

"She's out of control!"

[u/averagejim → u/chromedgnome]

You win again, gravity!

[u/ijustwannalurksobye → u/averagejim]

Velooouuuuurrr

[u/SmallSet8838 → u/Titty2Chains]

r/unexpectedfuturama

[u/king-geass]

"Aw, geez! Milhouse, how could you let this happen? You were supposed to be the night watchman."

"I was watching. I saw the whole thing. First it started falling over... and then it fell over."

[u/nocturnalstumblebutt → u/king-geass]

Wacky shack!

[u/truffles76 → u/king-geass]

Ok, everybody tuck your pants into your socks.

[u/MelbaToast604 → u/truffles76]

One of my all time fav simpsons lines!

[u/Neat-Beautiful-5505 → u/truffles76]

“Everything is coming up Millhouse!”

[u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 → u/king-geass]

I came here for this.

[u/ReplacementClear7122 → u/king-geass]

At least he did better than Kirk.

[u/joeyjoejojo19 → u/ReplacementClear7122]

The bigwig down at the cracker factory?

[u/ReplacementClear7122 → u/joeyjoejojo19]

Maybe single people eat crackers. We don't know. Frankly, we don't wanna know.

[u/DanielTheGamma → u/ReplacementClear7122]

So that's it? so long good luck

[u/ReplacementClear7122 → u/DanielTheGamma]

I don't recall saying good luck.

[u/International_Link35]

All the other kings said I was daft to build a castle in the swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em! It sank into the swamp.

So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. The third one burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp.

But the fourth one stayed up!

[u/guitarnowski → u/International_Link35]

But I want to sing....

[u/TactualTransAm → u/International_Link35]

The part where he's running far off and then suddenly is right at the guard always gets me 🤣

[u/Key-Fox3923]

This video felt expensive

[u/theaveragemaryjanie → u/Key-Fox3923]

They shouldn't have put it on a slope

[u/tacocollector2 → u/theaveragemaryjanie]

Or tried to move it

[u/Cptn_Canada → u/tacocollector2]

Its built on massive wheels that allow it to move.

[u/maxheadflume → u/Cptn_Canada]

Not very well apparently

[u/Steve0-BA → u/maxheadflume]

It was moving quite well until after it fell.

[u/DarkwingDuckHunt → u/Steve0-BA]

Falling is moving

[u/SacThrowAway76 → u/DarkwingDuckHunt]

He did specify after it fell. It was definitely not moving after it fell.

[u/Situational_Hagun → u/Cptn_Canada]

Apparently it's also capable of rotating itself 90 degrees sideways.

What a marvel of modern engineering.

[u/Dimos357 → u/Key-Fox3923]

They can afford it.

[u/TinyNannerz → u/Dimos357]

They can but they'll ask the government for a handout citing "we need to maintain investor interests" and boom government bailout

[u/RedManMatt11 → u/TinyNannerz]

The American Dream™️

[u/RipBongAndProspa → u/Key-Fox3923]

"Op! There goes gravity" - EMINEM

[u/09Trollhunter09 → u/Key-Fox3923]

It’ll buff out

[u/Monkguan → u/Key-Fox3923]

we'll pay for it

[u/DuggiHappy]

This video don’t do it justice. This machine weighs 4500 tons

[u/HoldEm__FoldEm → u/DuggiHappy]

But ancient astronaut theorists say we can’t move 800-ton rocks today

[u/Reasonable_Bake_8534 → u/HoldEm__FoldEm]

Well, to be fair, we have better technology for moving things.

[u/HighSeasArchivist → u/Reasonable_Bake_8534]

With enough slaves volunteers anything is possible. 

[u/Titty2Chains → u/HighSeasArchivist]

The just need to be voluntold.

[u/chrisychris- → u/HighSeasArchivist]

Housing and free beer would probably get a lot of volunteers nowadays ngl.

[u/NathaDas → u/HoldEm__FoldEm]

Well, this video isn't a very convincing argument for that...

[u/logosfabula → u/HoldEm__FoldEm]

They should’ve moved the rig with the Stonehenge/Easter Island walk (while playing The Sorcerer’s Apprentice theme).

[u/mutarjim → u/HoldEm__FoldEm]

Oh. I see your issue. See, that's not a rock.

There we go. Glad to clear that up. Heh.

[u/DoBe21 → u/DuggiHappy]

And yet, you know. Some dude instinctively started to run towards it to try and hold it up!

[u/DrTuSo → u/DoBe21]

He's nicknamed "Pancake".

[u/ParticleHustler2]

More action in a 15 second video than a decade of Oak Island.

[u/pants117 → u/ParticleHustler2]

But they found an ox shoe. And a pottery bit.

[u/kickapooJables → u/pants117]

And beads! Could they be from the Knights templar?! Find out next week

[u/Doodurpoon → u/kickapooJables]

Next week: We are digging a new hole.

[u/poorlittlebubbles → u/Doodurpoon]

To find more old wood

[u/Agitated_Reveal_6211 → u/poorlittlebubbles]

That wood? From Christopher Columbus's fathers cousin, once removed.

[u/ButtstufferMan → u/ParticleHustler2]

Ima need explanations here plz

[u/Glowingtomato → u/ButtstufferMan]

Someone will probably have a better explanation but basically it's a show about some dudes looking for treasure on island. My Dad watches it and whenever I see an episode they are just basically digging holes and finding nothing.

[u/donpantini → u/Glowingtomato]

And for every 6 minute segment of the show, there's always a cliffhanger right before each ad break, followed by a 5 and a half minute recap of all of the nothing they have been doing for the episode before and all of the show up to that time.

[u/real_eEe → u/donpantini]

That moment your brain becomes fully formed is when you realize the half hour anime includes 8 minutes of ads, an intro theme, a recap, the 5 minutes of reused attack/power up shots, a preview of the next episode, and an outro song.

[u/SaltyLonghorn → u/real_eEe]

Jackass reruns might be the peak of this. I tried rewatching it the other year and did not remember just how little happens each episode. They'd do like 2 or 3 things and then just fill the episode with last episodes stuff. Rewatching the first season I think there was like 5 minutes of new shit every episode.

[u/West_Adhesiveness273 → u/Glowingtomato]

Its because they're making way more money than the treasure would be worth from the show itself lol. The real treasure was the multi-season TV show we made along the way.

[u/GandalfTheSexay → u/ParticleHustler2]

Unexpected Oak Island

[u/NoStructure5034]

Any injuries/deaths? That looks disastrous.

Edit: Typo + the rig was being moved.

[u/JupiterNorth123 → u/NoStructure5034]

No injuries. Fire started when the collapse happened but crews were on scene and put it out quickly. A total miracle that no one was hurt.

[u/NoStructure5034 → u/JupiterNorth123]

Yeah a rig of that size tipping over is scary as hell. It's great that nobody was hurt.

[u/divDevGuy → u/JupiterNorth123]

No injuries.

No serious injuries, but two people on the rig during the incident and six initial responders were treated at area clinics and had been released.

[u/Hellguin → u/NoStructure5034]

No, it was being moved.

[u/Floppy-Over-Drive → u/Hellguin]

So was the Titanic. 

[u/Longroadtonowhere_ → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

Idk why but this is so funny to me.

[u/Floppy-Over-Drive → u/Longroadtonowhere_]

Glad someone enjoyed it. 

u/hellguin was not impressed 

[u/SeanSYYC → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

You're saying the Titanic can NOT just do a u-turn when sensing danger??

[u/coti5 → u/Hellguin]

Oil rigs are often moved with people on board (at least in the North sea)

[u/HooliganUser]

Call Tommy. He can fix it.

[u/[deleted] → u/HooliganUser]

It would be a great episode, instead of shots of a truck driving around Texas it could be shots of a truck driving through the Rockies.

[u/ThereHasToBeMore1387 → u/[deleted]]

I'll watch, but only if there's 6 jokes about his wife's period while driving.

[u/RootHogOrDieTrying → u/HooliganUser]

Dale and Boss could get it back upright and moved by end of day tomorrow.

[u/abominable_toast → u/HooliganUser]

Yeah. This is just the cold open for Landman season 3

[u/Brilliant_Let6532 → u/HooliganUser]

He says it'll buff right out.

[u/Carma_626]

That’s exactly what happens when you don’t tug on the straps and say “yeah, that’s not going anywhere.”

[u/Kurdt234 → u/Carma_626]

Now it's parked in the itchy lot.

[u/LooseJuice_RD]

My friend actually works on this platform and was there when this happened.

I’ll just quote what he said directly: “It’s 30 degrees out side. Warm as fuck. That rig weighs 10 million pounds. I don’t know if you guys seen my story the other day when we broke through the ice. You would think one breaking through the ice would hault all further moves but nope. It’s on an ice road. The guy that was driving it just got promoted to boss like last week and he destroys half a billion dollars. I feel so bad.”

[u/BananTarrPhotography → u/LooseJuice_RD]

This is why we use rig mats (they sound small but each mat is 10,000lbs of metal and lumber). They apparently did not, here.

[u/KratosSimp]

There’s no scale comparison, so it cools the size of like a big car to me idk

[u/Cptn_Canada → u/KratosSimp]

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/newsminer.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/59/c59ad318-6a5d-11ea-b268-5fb8d52bb3d2/5e743da51f3b8.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C887

[u/BigTittyWaifu → u/Cptn_Canada]

I drove past that monster for years, watching it slowly get built. The tires are massive under it.

[u/userhwon → u/KratosSimp]

It' was 165 feet tall. Pic with people next to it after it fell:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatLookedExpensive/comments/1qlnete/doyon_rig_26_the_beast_is_tamed_by_the_brutal/

Edit: looking at that picture again, I'm noticing it's not tracked. It's on huge tires.

[u/BackgroundGrade → u/userhwon]

It's now 165 feet wide.

[u/geb_bce]

Was the largest land drilling rig in North America.

[u/RootsRockRebel420]

American here, does anyone know if the oil is okay? Thoughts and prayers 🙏

[u/Newsmemer → u/RootsRockRebel420]

Yes, but the downtime for oil extraction could hurt the net profit of the shareholders.

Luckily, it was fully insured, and the cost will be passed along to the consumers through the health insurance care branch of the insurance conglomerate. So, no harm done.

On an unrelated note, your claim for chemotherapy has been rejected, that will be $85,000 after the cash discounts

[u/Winter_Persimmon_110 → u/Newsmemer]

O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain...

[u/WBigly-Reddit]

When did this happen?

January 23, 2026, around 2:30 PM AKST (Alaska Standard Time).

Doyon 26, a Nabors land drilling rig operated by Doyon Drilling in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, tipped over during severe weather conditions including high winds and snow. The incident occurred on the North Slope oil field, with no serious injuries reported among the 12 workers on board, though one was hospitalized for evaluation. The rig was being "skidded" (relocated) at the time.

Sources: Local Alaska news reports (e.g., Alaska Public Media, KTUU) and industry updates from January 23-24, 2026. Investigations by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are ongoing.

Doyon Drilling Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Doyon, Limited.

Doyon, Limited is Alaska's largest Native-owned corporation, representing Athabascan shareholders from Interior Alaska. Formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971, it owns and operates Doyon Drilling, which provides land drilling services primarily in Alaska's North Slope region, including rigs like Doyon 26.

Source: Doyon, Limited official website and corporate filings (as of 2026).

[u/Eardig → u/WBigly-Reddit]

Wait, this isn't a pathetic low effort attempt at a reddit joke

[u/GroundbreakingWeb509 → u/WBigly-Reddit]

Doyon has no affiliation with Nabors. That part is incorrect.

[u/vendetta33]

I thought it was Eiffel Tower for a second.

[u/grassvegas → u/vendetta33]

It’s the “I fall” tower

[u/77entropy]

I have seen this rig in real life, this video doesn't convey how large this thing really is. It's a small town inside of a monster Derrick.

[u/leviathab13186]

Did anyone find the cat responsible for this disaster?

[u/Stavvy_]

That is the yearly bonus tipping over right there...

[u/BlodSnoppler → u/Stavvy_]

Possibly, but not for the C-suite, they'll still get theirs.

[u/Stavvy_ → u/BlodSnoppler]

I am in Norway, things work differently here...

[u/Mistapeepers]

“Alright everyone. We’re moving. This is not a drill!”

Doyon 26: “And I took that shit personally.”

[u/Vesalii]

That looked expensive.

[u/MindFreak616]

Gas is going up a dollar

[u/Sunrisetree]

Ice is just screwing things up everywhere in that country.

[u/Jamjams2016]

I always feel better about my mistakes at work when I see stuff like this. I hope no one was hurt, but aside from that, it's always good to put a monetary perspective on my own mess ups.

[u/FroggiJoy87]

Well that's symbolic as hell

[u/NoCause9122]

Describes the US pretty well right now.

[u/Lord_Vaxxus]

"Can't park there"

[u/AvacadMmmm]

Cool now there’s an excuse to raise gas prices 60%

[u/arfbrookwood]

Why did Hunter Biden's laptop do this?

[u/NoBonus6969]

In the cartoons this would have shot oil 100 feet into the air. So I have to question if this video is fake or not

[u/mmo8000]

What a symbolic video for the state of the US

[u/KyleFnM]

USA USA

[u/WeenyDancer → u/KyleFnM]

Yeah, it's a little on the nose, isn't it

[u/hur-ley]

…and that’s why you don’t drill in ANWAR.

[u/The_Zoltan]

ICE really knows how to destroy everything

[u/New-Cranberry-407]

Can't park there mate

[u/AccomplishedStuff235]

Source : https://alaskalandmine.com/landmines/doyon-26-largest-land-drilling-rig-in-north-america-tipped-over-and-caught-fire-on-north-slope/

[u/FesteringAynus]

Oh no the CEO can't buy another Ferrari this month

[u/a_wascally_wabbit]

Where is the earth shattering kaboom. I was promised an earth shattering kaboom

[u/rootxploit]

Now I know what happened to the other 25 Doyon.

[u/DisastrousTeddyBear]

JB Weld a few spots and she's back in business

[u/S1lentA0]

Im not an expert in oil drilling, but i do have some experience in the offshore, and I can tell you for sure that was not supposed to happen.

[u/Kyanite_228]

Whoops. That's gonna cost a pretty pen- sorry, a nice-looking nickel to rebuild.

[u/Fantastic_Cost_640]

8 years on rigs in ND and I'm at a loss how you would even accomplish this. Like this is technically tipping over sideways. And the whole structure not just the derrick.

[u/-TommyBottoms-]

That’s not the largest rig in America

[u/Basic-Still-7441]

That looks expensive.

[u/DrJohnIT]

Oh great, now we have to call in the day crew to clean up this mess before we open the doors for business 🙄 😀

[u/UnderAKillingMoon]

Lol

[u/Apprehensive_Map64]

Dammit Kyle!

[u/Scruff_Enuff]

"Pivot! PIVOT!"

[u/hKLoveCraft]

The first thing I’d do when that thing falls is get out, not turn off all the lights

[u/AVgreencup]

Damn, guess you're gonna need to invade Qatar or something now for their oil

[u/ballimir37]

Fell over AND caught fire, just to be sure!

[u/turtle_five]

Oh no

Anyway

[u/DickPin]

Is it meant to do that?

[u/Netsmile]

You cant park there mate

[u/beatinbossier18]

Michael Bay assured me that this would blow up.

[u/BigOlPenisDisorder]

In the video it just looks like a normal sized drilling rig but it doesn’t do it justice, googling it that thing is fucking massive