Crews battle large gas-well fire in Greene Co.; 1 missing

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/crews-battling-large-gas-well-fire-gr...

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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on May 4, 2014 at 1:17am

http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/04/23/dep-says-residen...DEP says residents not exposed to harmful air pollution during Chevron well fire

April 23, 2014 | 5:11 PM
By Katie Colaneri

Katie Colaneri/ StateImpact Pennsylvania

A fire broke out on a Chevron natural gas well pad in Dunkard Township, Greene County, Pa. on Feb. 11.

Nearby residents and emergency crews that responded to a February explosion at a natural gas well site in southwest Pennsylvania were not exposed to harmful air pollution, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In a report released Wednesday, the department said it collected air samples near the Chevron well site in Dunkard Township, Greene County for nine days after the fire started. The samples were analyzed for 57 pollutants and the DEP detected elevated levels of only three chemicals: heptane, trimethylbenzene and propane — none of which were found to pose a public health hazard. More from the DEP’s press release:

Heptane often comes from crude oil and is used in paints and solvents; 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene is usually found in coal tar or oil; and the higher concentrations of propane are believed to have come from nearby storage tanks.

Air monitoring began on Feb. 12, the day after the fire started, and lasted until Feb. 20 when the first of two wells involved in the fire had been capped. A DEP report released in March also concluded that residents were not exposed to harmful levels of radiation as a result of the fire.

The DEP has filed nine notices of violation against Chevron for the explosion that killed 27-year-old Ian McKee, a contract worker on the site. The department has also alleged that Chevron officials blocked access to DEP’s trained emergency responders for nearly two days. Officials have said it would not affect the department’s investigation. A detailed after-action report on the incident is expected next month.

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on August 7, 2014 at 3:28am

http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/08/06/pa-faults-chevro...

Pa. faults Chevron for lack of oversight, poor communication in fatal well fire

In a new report out today, the Department of Environmental Protection says Chevron was “too guarded” in its communication with state regulators and the media, and did not provide adequate information after a fatal well fire in southwest Pennsylvania.

The DEP admits it is also to blame for the poor communication and that the agency did not immediately assert its authority following the incident in February.

A second report by the department’s Bureau of Investigations faults Chevron’s site managers for inadequate supervision over several contractors working on the Lanco A well pad in Dunkard Township, Greene County.

DEP investigators found the explosion was likely caused by an inexperienced contractor – known as a “greenhat” – who was sent to assist a more experienced worker in preparing to put the three wells on the pad into production. The agency determined the unnamed greenhat did not properly tighten a bolt and locknut assembly on one of the wellheads, allowing gas to escape and eventually ignite.

“Our investigation revealed that the oversight of that operation was somewhat less than it should have been,” said DEP spokesman John Poister.

A contract worker, 27-year-old Ian McKee, was killed in the fire on Feb. 11.

Chevron failed to “provide meaningful update information”

As StateImpact Pennsylvania has reported, Chevron blocked DEP personnel from accessing the site for nearly two days after the explosion.

In its after-action review, the DEP says Chevron restricted access to state officials “based on what they believed were [Pennsylvania State Police] directives.” About two hours after the explosion, state police established a half-mile perimeter around the site.

The company also “failed to continually provide meaningful update information” during briefings at a command center set up by the company on a neighboring well pad.

Related

DEP staff were “excluded from discussions” with Chevron and Wild Well Control – the specially-trained group called in from Texas to fight the fire – “while they developed the information provided at the regularly scheduled briefing.”

The report found members of the press were also not properly informed.

The company set up an information center at the Bobtown Polish Club, a small bar and event hall just over a mile from the well pad. However, Chevron personnel staffing the center were not authorized to speak to reporters. Media communications were handled by DEP officials and local lawmakers who were not receiving detailed reports from Chevron.

“That kind of response should never ever happen again.”

The department is developing a new protocol for emergencies to establish the agency’s authority on the site of the incident, and ensure that the department and the public are better informed.

Poister said the DEP is sending a message to Chevron and other operators.

“We’re going to make that clear to the industry,” he said. “That kind of response should never ever happen again.”

In March, the department cited Chevron for nine violations related to the incident. DEP officials plan to meet with the company to discuss the reports and the violations before issuing fines.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting its own investigation.

“Chevron is committed to safe operations,” said spokeswoman Lee Ann Wainwright. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Pennsylvania DEP and OSHA in order to fully understand what happened with this incident, and we are determined to prevent it from happening again.”

Last month, the parents of the worker killed in the explosion filed suit against Chevron.


 

Permalink Reply by searcherone on August 7, 2014 at 3:15pm

Philip, thank you for the update and report on the PA  Chevron well fire.   Perhaps the final report on the Eisenbarth well pad fire in OhioOwill show the appropriate agencies establishing protocols to be followed in case of future problems.

And Wild Well Fire perhaps you need to be paid by the E &  Ps to train a core of local responders as to what should and should not be done.    And do you always have to come from Texas?  What about personnel  who could at least offer advice on a regional basis.   Oh I know computers and satellite communication can do that.   No  In an emergency someone with knowledge needs on site quickly, you know in charge leadership!

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 1, 2014 at 6:17am

http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/99396-osha-will-not-fine-ch...

OSHA Will Not Fine Chevron for PA Well Fire

Jamison Cocklin
August 15, 2014

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue no citations to Chevron Appalachia LLC for an explosion and fire that burned for days at a three-well pad operated by the company in southwest Pennsylvania in February.

In a short statement, OSHA said it had finished an "in-depth" six-month investigation this month and concluded that the "exact cause of the incident could not be determined." OSHA personnel, along with federal and state regulators, emergency responders and well control specialists, were dispatched to the Lanco well pad on Feb. 11 after an explosion set fire to two wells that burned for days until they were capped on Feb. 25 (see Shale Daily, Feb. 11; Feb. 14).

The blast left one worker hospitalized and Cameron International's Ian McKee, 27, of Morganstown, WV, dead in what state regulators called one of the worst oil- and gas-related accidents in modern history (see Shale Daily, Feb. 18). OSHA's statement came just days after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) concluded in its own six-month investigation that a failed gland nut and lockscrew assembly, used to secure wellhead equipment, had been ejected, causing natural gas to leak from the wellhead (see Shale Daily, Aug. 7). The DEP also said, however, that it could not determine the ignition source.

OSHA said it had involved McKee's family in the investigation and had provided an explanation of its findings. McKee's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chevron in Allegheny County court in Pittsburgh in June, hiring personal injury attorney John P. Gismondi to pursue a case against the company (see Shale Daily, July 3).

At the time, Gismondi told NGI's Shale Daily that the lawsuit would serve as a sort of fact-finding mission to compel Chevron to release more information about the incident. The company has expressed remorse about the incident and said it could not comment on pending litigation.

In April, the DEP sent Chevron a list of nine violations, chief among them was the allegation that the company refused unrestricted access to properly identified DEP personnel during response to the fire (see Shale Daily, April 11). Although the agency said Chevron's own response was adequate, it said the company's communication with regulators was inadequate. Chevron could face fines for each of the violations issued.

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