Pennsylvania nat gas well capped after blowout
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0414919620100604
Fri Jun 4, 2010 5:36pm EDT
Pennsylvania nat gas well capped after blowout
* No one injured, no homes evacuated
* Well was being drilled in the Marcellus Shale
* Lawmaker renews call for tighter regulation on fracking
* EOG Resources is “investigating everything” -spokeswoman
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA, June 4 (Reuters) – Workers capped a natural gas well in central Pennsylvania on Friday after it ruptured during drilling, spewing gas and drilling fluid 75 feet (23 meters) in the air, officials said.
The well, operated by EOG Resources Inc (EOG.N) in a remote area of Clearfield County, blew out at about 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) on Thursday when a drilling team “lost control” of the well while preparing to extract gas, according to a statement from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
No one was killed or injured, and there were no evacuations because there are no homes within a mile (1.6 km) of the drill site but nearby roads were closed, and emergency management officials declared a no-fly zone around the site.
The well was capped around noon on Friday.
Elizabeth Ivers, a spokeswoman for EOG, declined to comment on a possible cause for the blowout and said the company is “investigating everything.”
The well was being drilled in the Marcellus Shale, a vast deposit of natural gas that underlies about two-thirds of Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states and is being exploited in an accelerating rush by energy companies that are drilling thousands of wells.
The incident was the first in the Marcellus field to involve the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said Ruth Miller, a spokeswoman.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an energy industry group, called the incident “very serious” and said it is working to ensure that every stage of shale gas production is performed “safely and responsibly.”
The incident caused the release of as much as 1.5 million gallons (5.7 million liters) of fluid used to hydraulically fracture the well, said Matthew Maciorkoski, a spokesman for State Representative Bud George, who has called for tighter regulation of gas drilling.
Critics of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” say domestic water supplies are contaminated by chemicals that are forced into the ground along with sand and millions of gallons of water to free gas from fissures in the shale a mile or more underground.
Energy companies contend their processes are safe and that there has never been a proven case of groundwater contamination from fracking. [ID:nN18229665]
DEP Secretary John Hanger said the agency would investigate the incident “aggressively” and take appropriate enforcement action.
“The event at the well site could have been a catastrophic incident that endangered life and property,” Hanger said in a statement. “This was not a minor accident but a serious incident that will be fully investigated.”
DEP officials learned of the blowout at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, the statement said. When officials arrived at the well, toxic drilling fluid was flowing toward a nearby stream, and gas was shooting into the sky, creating a “significant fire hazard.”
EOG Resources, formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Co, operates about 265 wells in Pennsylvania, 117 of which are in the Marcellus Shale, according to DEP.
(Editing by Lisa Shumaker)