DEP Halts Fracking Job After Gas Well Failure in PA

Two weeks ago a natural gas well being fracked by Carrizo Oil and Gas went out-of-control, causing a spill of waste fluids on a well pad in Forest Lake Township, Susquehanna County, according to a newspaper report by Laura Legere:

http://thedailyreview.com/news/dep-halts-fracking-at-site-after-gas-well-failure-dep-halts-carrizo-fracking-at-susquehanna-county-site-after-gas-well-failure-1.1270279

Two valves failed at the Baker 4H well the afternoon of January 30th.  Here is the DEP violation report:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48182083/drilling/nov.pdf

There were three violations in these areas: Oil and Gas Act, Solid Waste Management Act, and the Clean Streams Law.  There was an "unpermitted discharge of residual waste onto the ground."  The residual waste is another phrase for frac fluid.  There are big fines for each of these violations.  However, no fines have been levied yet, and most likely will never be imposed.

Natural gas drilling cannot not be done safely.  There will always be spills, leaks, and explosions- always.  The ground is always contaminated- always.  The air is always contaminated- always.  The degree of contamination varies, but there are always chemicals getting into the air, soil, and water.

Chesapeake Energy Blowout, Rig Lost

Jan. 5th 2012 10pm

Nomac Rig #17 drilled into a shallow gas pocket soon after spudding in at a drilling depth of 900' northwest of Sweetwater, Oklahoma this evening around 6pm and burned to the ground. No injuries were reported.

Workers stated that they encountered the abnormally pressurized zone at relief time around 6pm when the relief crew was in the change house. It was first thought that they had encountered a shallow air pocket but after testing with a "sniffer" (a device to determine the presence of hydrocarbons) the well soon caught fire.

Witnesses 3/4 of a mile to the north reported hearing a loud "boom" from their residence "and then it sounded like a jet engine was right outside our home". When they drove down to the drill site to investigate the well was discharging fluid, soon after that something ignited the gas and the rig caught fire.

Bar Hoppers (used to increase the mud weight and counter downhole pressures) were not yet rigged up. A gas separator, chokes and a BOP stack were also on location and waiting to be rigged up and tested as soon as the surface portion of the hole was completed. Without these blowout prevention devices in place there is little to nothing that can be done to control the well.

It's very unusual to hit a shallow air pocket in the area and even rarer to encounter any hydrocarbons at this shallow depth above the planned surface casing.

El Reno based Nomac Drilling is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, one of the nations most active drillers.

Read more.

BREAKING NEWS: Chesapeake Energy Suspends Hydrofracking in Pennsylvania

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20110421/NEWS01/104210373/Chesapeake-Energy-suspends-fracking-Pa-?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Chesapeake Energy has suspended hydrofracking in Pennsylvania until the cause of a well blowout in Leroy Township  late Tuesday night can be determined.  The well is still out of control.  Toxic fluids were spilled onto farm fields and into a tributary of Towanda Creek which flows in the Susquehanna River.

One man who lives near the well is worried his water well will be ruined.  The well is located several hundred yards from the blown-out well.  His well and several other nearby water wells are being tested for contamination.

BREAKING NEWS: Well Blowout in Bradford County, PA

A gas well emergency is underway in LeRoy Township near Canton, PA, at this hour.  Thousands and thousands of gallons of fracking fluid have been spilled due to a blowout.  The fluid has contaminated Towanda Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River. 

We must stop gas drilling unless we don't mind this happening many times more in the future.  A contaminated creek cannot be saved.  Damage done.  Reports are that the creek was stocked with trout April 5th.

LINK:  http://www.wnep.com/wnep-brad-leroy-gas-drillingemergency20110420,0,1884646.story
TV Report:  http://www.wnep.com/  (video)

PA Well Blowout Easily Preventable, Potentially Catastrophic

[Photo from PA DEP]

DEP Secretary John Hanger announced that an independent investigation of the June 3rd blowout at a gas well in Clearfield County, PA, was preventable and that EOG Resources ignored industry standards by failing to install  proper barriers in the well and hiring uncertified operators.  In addition, EOG Resources failed to alert emergency authorities until several hours after the blowout, which hindered the state's response.  Hanger said

...this could have been a catastrophic incident. Had the gas blowing out of this well ignited, the human cost would have been tragic, and had an explosion allowed this well to discharge wastewater for days or weeks, the environmental damage would have been significant.

Read the whole story  here. (Article from Truthout by Mike Ludwig)

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Marcellus Shale Gas Blowout in North Central PA: Reporter Is Threatened With Being Shot and Arrested

Enjoying a boat ride on the Western Branch of the Susquehanna River, Clearfield County, Central Pennsylvania

Michael Morrill reports at The Daily Kos that he was threatened and told he might possibly be shot and/or arrested if he didn't leave.  He was trying to investigate the gas well blowout last week in Clearfield County, PA .  Read his astounding account of what happened to him when he showed up during the clean-up with a Flip camera.  The extent to which several gas employees pursued and harrassed him is quite surprising.  We should all know that this is happening. Here is an excerpt from Morrill's diary:

They told me that I was on property owned by Punxsutawney Hunt Club, and the members didn't appreciate trespassers They told me, in a veiled threat, that I should leave now, and as long as I was heading out I would probably not get shot.

Read a related article here.  "PA halts drilling by company after gas accident"