Crews battle large gas-well fire in Greene Co.; 1 missing
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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Greene County shale well continues burning.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2014/02/11/Gas-well-explode...
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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DEP: Greene County gas well fire will be contained
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2014/02/12/Gas-well-fire-co...
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.chevron.com/news/mediaresources/updates.news?utm_campaig...
Chevron Updates
Update No. 5: Pennsylvania Incident
Feb. 13, 2014, 9:00 p.m. EST – Chevron has had a full day of on-site operations to move our plan forward to extinguish and cap the well. The water tank pad has been prepared and the site is expected to be ready for water tanks to be delivered on Friday, weather permitting. We expect additional equipment will be removed Friday, which will safely enable clear access to the well. Chevron, Wild Well Control and partners continue to make progress in planning for the removal of machinery from the incident site.
The fire is currently an intermittent flame sourced by natural gas from the initial well. While progress has been made today responding to conditions at the well site, we remain focused on the unaccounted for contractor. Chevron continues to work with local, state and federal agencies and emergency response organizations. We appreciate their ongoing support to this incident.
Out of an abundance of caution, we continue to monitor the air, surface waters and noise in the area for any signs of impact. Fixed, portable and personal gas monitors have been brought on site to aid responders. At this point we have no indications that this incident has created any safety risk.
Incident command has been staffed with dedicated resources since the incident took place. Response teams continue to work 24 hours a day to continue to assess and respond to the incident. We are working at a pace that helps ensure the safety of all involved in responding to this incident. Chevron, with well control experts, is developing a plan of action to gain control of the well and the flow of natural gas. We are closely monitoring the status of the adjacent two wells and are developing contingency plans for those wells.
Chevron recognizes the impact this has had on the community. We value being a responsible member of this community and will continue to strive to incident free operations. We are committed to taking action to safeguard the people of this community, our employees, our contractors and the environment.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.chevron.com/news/mediaresources/updates.news
Chevron Updates
Update No. 6: Pennsylvania Incident
Feb. 14, 2014, 4:40 p.m. EST – Activity continues on the Lanco well pad site, where the initial well is burning at a steady flow, as expected, and an adjacent well on the pad is burning intermittently. This second well sustained damage from the heat of the fire from the initial well. We continue to monitor the condition and integrity of the remaining well on-site and a contingency plan is in place should conditions change.
Chevron continues its operations of clearing the site of equipment and vehicles that were on the site at the time of the incident. This will allow Wild Well Control to get close enough to the well to perform its operations. The last piece of equipment to be removed from the site is a charred crane. This crane is maintaining extreme temperatures and is the ignition source that continues to reignite the natural gas flowing from the initial well. This flame is serving as the source of ignition for the second well. The flames have prevented the combustible gas from spreading beyond the well site. The crane is being moved to allow access for the well intervention equipment.
Staging water near the site in preparation for firefighting is a top priority. Toward that end, water trucks, heavy lifting equipment and pumping systems are being delivered to the site. Additional response equipment is being staged at the Greene County Fairgrounds and other locations near the well site. Chevron has constructed a water tank pad adjacent to the well pad, approximately 155 feet by 185 feet, so that water can be stored on site and used to fight the fire.
Activity at this point has been focused on ensuring that Wild Well Control has the space, resources, conditions and equipment on-site and in place to safely begin its operations to gain control of the well and stop the flow of natural gas. We continue to monitor the air, surface waters and noise in the area for any signs of impact. Fixed, portable and personal gas monitors and alarms have been deployed on-site and in the surrounding areas. Air and water samples are being collected and sent to labs for analysis.
Chevron continues to work with local, state and federal agencies and emergency response organizations. We appreciate their ongoing support to this incident. Incident command has been staffed with dedicated resources since the incident took place. Response teams continue to work 24 hours a day to continue to assess and respond to the incident. We are working at a pace that helps ensure the safety of all involved in responding to this incident.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/02/14/Chevron-might-t...
Team faces well fire hazards
February 15, 2014 12:08 AM
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
The fire burns on at the Chevron Gas Well site.Share with others:
A fire that has raged at two gas wells in Dunkard, Greene County, since Tuesday morning could be capped sometime this weekend, a state spokesman said Friday.
Chevron, which owns the Marcellus Shale natural gas wells, said its well fire specialist, Wild Well Control, had made good progress on clearing the well pad of debris and bringing in equipment in anticipation of attempting to stop the fire. Workers still had not accounted for one employee of contractor Cameron Surface Systems who was working on the site when the wells caught fire. Eighteen other employees escaped, with one suffering minor injuries.
One change in the way one of the two wells has been flaring has helped the operation.
That well had been flaring periodically, making it dangerous for crews trying to pull trucks, tanks and other metal that can heat up away from the well pad, said John Poister, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
But late Thursday, the well began flaring continuously, he said.
"We're kind of taking that as a positive because it's burning off gas that might otherwise gather on the well pad and ignite in an explosion," he said. "We think that will make it an easier job for Wild Well Control to clear the well pad."
Wild Well Control experts were flown in from Houston hours after the fires erupted.
In its most detailed statement of the week, Chevron said Friday afternoon the hazards on the well pad remained significant.
While one well head is burning steadily, "an adjacent well on the pad is burning intermittently," the company said. "This second well sustained damage from the heat of the fire from the initial well. We continue to monitor the condition and integrity of the remaining well on-site, and a contingency plan is in place should conditions change."
The company also said that as of 5 p.m. Friday, the last piece of debris to be removed was a badly burned crane near the well heads.
"This crane is maintaining extreme temperatures and is the ignition source that continues to reignite the natural gas flowing from the initial well," Chevron said. Once removed it "will allow Wild Well Control to get close enough to the well to perform its operations," the company said. Chevron said tanks on a pad nearby would be used to hold water to fight the fires. It did not explain how it would attempt to stop the flow of natural gas, though.
Mr. Poister said Chevron has made an emergency request for a state permit to draw nearby pond water.
"Activity at this point has been focused on ensuring that Wild Well Control has the space, resources, conditions and equipment on-site and in place to safely begin its operations to gain control of the well and stop the flow of natural gas," Chevron said.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/02/14/Chevron-might-t...
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1352395.ece
Worker at Chevron well 'presumed dead'
Fire: Chevron still fighting blaze
A worker who remains missing after an explosion and fire at a Chevron-operated gas well in Pennsylvania is presumed dead, as the fire continues to burn intermittently.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20140215/NEWS01/140219586#...
Chevron: Fire could burn until middle of next week
by Francesca Sacco
Staff writer
fsacco@observer-reporter.com
Published Feb 15, 2014 at 2:44 pm (Updated Feb 15, 2014 at 5:49 pm)
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Earlier this week, employees of Wild Well Control of Houston, Texas, remove equipment at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg to be used in extinquishing the fire at a Dunkard Township gas well.
Tara Kinsell / Observer-Reporter
Order a PrintAlthough efforts are under way to extinguish a fire that has been burning since early Tuesday at a Chevron Appalachia well site in Dunkard Township, Greene County, officials said it could still be several days before the fire is completely out.
During a phone conference Saturday, Chevron officials provided a glimpse of their efforts over the last five days and laid out their plan of action for continued safety and well containment. Blake Loke, incident commander for Chevron, said crews have been busy removing equipment from the scene and constructing a diversion tube that would divert the gas away from the site so crews could work safely. A large crane remains on the well pad.
Loke said crews hope to have the fire out by Wednesday and have the wells capped shortly thereafter.
The well fire is a result of an explosion that happened about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at Chevron’s Lanco 7H well, which left one worker with minor injuries and another worker still unaccounted for. Pennsylvania State Police is handling the investigation into the unaccounted person, and Chevron refused to provide details.
Trip Oliver, who handles policy, government and public affairs for Chevron, said the cause of the explosion is still undetermined. The site was not yet producing gas. It’s future is not yet known, and Loke said officials are working on a plan to kill the wells if needed.
Chevron was unable to provide an estimate on the amount of gas that has burned over the last five days, but Chevron said the gas was burning “clean, and that it burns similar to gas burning in a propane tank.”
Loke said Chevron and the state Department of Environmental Protection are monitoring air quality and the neighboring communities are not at risk.
The snowy winter has slowed efforts. Oliver and Loke said crews will eventually work around-the-clock once weather permits. Loke hopes to have the diversion tube and a heat shield, an enormous piece of sheet metal that will separate the wells, in place by Wednesday.
In the meantime, Loke said Wild Well Control, a Houston, Texas, company contracted to extinguish the flames and control the well, will continue setting up equipment for firefighting and site containment. Loke said 20 500-barrel tanks are being set up. Fresh water will be brought in to fill those tanks, and a temporary emergency permit has been granted to provide additional water.
John Poister, DEP spokesman, said the DEP granted an emergency permit allowing Wild Well Control to withdraw roughly 1.25 million gallons of water daily from Dunkard Creek
Poister, like Chevron officials, was unable to provide a specific timeline on the continuing actions.
“No one is rushing Wild Well Control to get this done,” Poister said. “Our first concern is safety and making sure that no additional problems arise.”
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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Emergency water permit issued for Greene County well fire
Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5596703-74/poister-fire-creek#ix...By Melissa Daniels
Published: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014,
Updated 27 minutes agoFire crews hope to begin removing a hot, charred crane — one of the most difficult tasks in extinguishing a gas well fire in rural Greene County — on Tuesday, a Chevron official announced.
“We were hoping to be able to work 24-hours a day, but the weather has not allowed us to,” Blake Loke, incident commander for Chevron, said during a briefing on Saturday. “We are working as many daylight hours as we can.”
Once the well pad is clear, workers can place a “diversion tube” to move the gas away from the site and put up a heat shield to keep the flames from igniting other wells.
“What that will hopefully allow us to do is move the gas coming from the well away from the well head, so we can get crews in there to work,” Loke said.
The fire began with an explosion on Tuesday morning at the Dunkard drilling site. One worker suffered injuries, and another is missing.
Pennsylvania State Police are handling the investigation of the missing worker. Chevron spokesman Trip Oliver said the company won't release details about the worker, a contractor from Cameron International Corp.
The Department of Environmental Protection granted Chevron an emergency permit on Saturday to draw up to 1.15 million gallons of water daily from Dunkard Creek to extinguish the fire.
DEP spokesman John Poister said the creek is the nearest source of water.
“This is only for a temporary, short period of time, so we're not anticipating there's going to be any kind of permanent impact on the creek,” he said. “But they do need the water.”
Chevron plans to use the creek as a backup, Loke said.
The company will fill 20 500-barrel tanks with fresh water from other sources to use in fighting the fire.
Poister said DEP has equipment at each corner of the well pad to monitor air quality. DEP officials do not believe gas is lingering in the air, with testing by Chevron and DEP finding no air quality problems at the site or in the greater area.
“So much of the gas was burned off by the fire,” Poister said.
The site has three well holes, one of which, 7H, is burning continuously. Another fire at 6H burned intermittently through the week.
Chevron and its emergency response teams are working to control the fire. The company's Houston-based contractor, Wild Well Control, is assisting.
This is the first well explosion for Chevron at a Marcellus shale drilling site, Loke said.
Inclement weather has slowed the overall progress of clearing the well pad, Poister said. Overnight snow and a morning thaw left the access road to the site muddy and difficult to use. Stones were brought in to act as temporary pavement.
“There's no timetable for actually gaining control of the well pad,” Poister said. “It's just going to take as long as it's going to take.”
Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5596703-74/poister-fire-creek#ix...
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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http://www.chevron.com/news/mediaresources/updates.news?utm_campaig...
Update No. 7: Pennsylvania Incident
Feb. 16, 2014, 5:08 p.m. EST – The two wells are no longer burning as of 3PM Saturday. It is premature to speculate on what caused the flames to go out. However, we do know that at this time, there is not enough fuel being emitted to sustain combustion, and with the cooling of the crane, the ignition source has been removed.
Before the well intervention equipment work can commence, a crane that was burned as a result of the incident must be removed from the site. This crane was in the line of fire and is badly damaged, so special equipment was brought in to assist with its removal. The removal of the crane is necessary before we can begin well intervention work.One of our top priorities continues to be staging water near the site to prepare for well intervention work and for fire prevention and suppression, if necessary. Ten water storage tanks were delivered and installed on Friday, and one tank was installed on Saturday. Additional tanks were able to be installed Sunday as well. Our focus will soon shift to connecting all of the tanks together and then filling them with fresh water.
Water from these tanks will be used to cool the well site and equipment, if necessary, so the wells can safely be worked on and for potential fire prevention and suppression. The water tanks are being placed on a tank pad that Chevron constructed adjacent to the well pad. Weather permitting, we hope to source water around the clock. We are staging additional response equipment at nearby locations, including the Greene County Fairgrounds.
Chevron continues to work with local, state and federal agencies and emergency response organizations. We appreciate their ongoing support to this incident.
We are dedicating considerable resources to maintaining and clearing the roads due to weather conditions to help assist personnel traveling to the site and equipment being delivered.
Incident command has been staffed with dedicated resources since the incident occurred. Response teams continue to work 24 hours a day to continue to assess and respond to the incident and to help protect the safety of all involved in responding to this incident.
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Permalink Reply by Mark McGrail on
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Phillip,
Thanks for posting these updates.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on
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Chevron: Greene County gas well fires have stopped
February 17, 2014 5:09 AM
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2014/02/16/Gas-well-fi...The fires at a pair of Chevron gas wells in Dunkard, Greene County, ignited by an explosion last week, stopped burning Saturday afternoon, the company said Sunday.
A statement Sunday evening from a Chevron spokeswoman said the fires at the wells in Dunkard stopped burning more than 24 hours before, at 3 p.m. Saturday.
"It is premature to speculate on what caused the flames to go out. However, we do know that at this time, there is not enough fuel being emitted to sustain combustion, and with the cooling of the crane, the ignition source has been removed," the spokeswoman, Lee Ann Wainwright, wrote.
Ms. Wainwright said in an email that the fire on the 6H well had been "intermittently going out and reigniting" over the past several days and the company wanted to make sure the same would not happen with the 7H well before it made an announcement.
There was no immediate word on the status or identity of a contract worker who has been missing and presumed dead since the Tuesday morning explosion. Another worker was injured, though his injuries were described as minor.
"At this time, we cannot comment on the status of the unaccounted-for colleague," Ms. Wainwright said. "This is a subject of an ongoing Pennsylvania State Police investigation and out of respect for their jurisdiction, all questions regarding the missing person will be handled by them."
State police at the Waynesburg barracks said Sunday that there was no new information on the missing worker and Greene County Coroner Gregory P. Rohanna said his office had not been contacted about the missing man. .
The missing worker worked for Houston-based Cameron International's surface systems division, which could not be reached Sunday night.
Chevron and its well fire specialist, Wild Well Control of Houston, Texas, had been working to clear damaged equipment from the site, including a large crane super-heated by the fires, so workers can install equipment to divert the gas coming out of the wells away from the wellhead.
The crane, which has been severely damaged, must be removed before the work can start and special equipment has been brought in to get it out of the way, Ms. Wainwright said.
"One of our top priorities continues to be staging water near the site to prepare for well-intervention work and for fire prevention and suppression, if necessary," the statement says. "Ten water-storage tanks were delivered and installed on Friday and one tank was installed on Saturday.
"Additional tanks were able to be installed Sunday as well. Our focus will soon shift to connecting all of the tanks together and then filling them with fresh water."
The water will be used to cool the site and equipment so workers can safely access the wells.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has granted Chevron a temporary emergency permit to withdraw up to 1.15 million gallons of water a day from nearby Dunkard Creek, though.
Scott Perry, deputy secretary in the DEP's Office of Oil and Gas Management, said Wild Well Control says it will need only about 410,000 gallons a day.
Though gas is still leaking, the three wells at the site are not expected to reignite and officials are monitoring gas levels in the area, he said.
"If the well does not reignite, they won't need to utilize any of that water," he said.
Next, the company will have to remove two damaged wellheads and replace them to ensure the wells are secure.
Whether the wells, which were drilled in March 2012, will be returned to production remains to be seen.
"There's going to have to be some investigation into the overall integrity of the well itself. DEP's obviously going to be involved in that process," Mr. Perry said.
The explosion happened just before 7 a.m. Tuesday as workers were readying the well for production. They were preparing to install production tubing, narrower diameter pipe that goes inside the well to facilitate the production of gas and the simultaneous removal of fluid, Mr. Perry said.
"The best information we have is that they had not even touched the wellhead when the event occurred," Mr. Perry said. "They were having a safety briefing when some of the workers detected a malfunction at the wellhead and there was some independent ignition source and the fire occurred."
The DEP will conduct its own investigation.
"We just really don't have enough information at this juncture to understand why the leak occurred and also what was the ignition source," Mr. Perry said. "That's the question that needs to be answered is how did this event occur in the first place?"
He couldn't say how long the investigation might take, noting that it could require metallurgical evaluations, discussions with the manufacturer of the wellheads and interviews with workers on site.
"An operator has a duty to maintain control of their wells at all times," Mr. Perry said. "The culpability of the operator is certainly something we consider when assessing any penalty. That's going to be an important part of our investigation as to whether this was purely an accident or whether this was a preventable accident."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2014/02/16/Gas-well-fi...
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