Missing Worker: ‘Remains’ Found at Drilling Site in Greene County PA

by Duane Nichols on February 20, 2014

Chevron's Pizza Certificate

Worker has been missing since explosion & fire

From an Article by Molly Born and Sean D. Hamill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 19, 2014

At a somber news conference Wednesday, state police and officials from two well companies acknowledged what the colleagues, friends and family of a missing contractor had feared for eight days: that he likely died during an explosion at a well in Greene County that he was working on last week.

State police said during a search earlier Wednesday they recovered what appear to be the remains of Ian McKee, 27, a Cameron International field service technician. Bones were found between a charred crane and a tank on the well pad, roughly where Mr. McKee’s coworkers told investigators they last saw him before the blast.

“We did not find an actual physical body,” said state police spokeswoman Trooper Stefani Plume. “We just found remains there at the scene.” Investigators said the remains have been taken to the Greene County coroner’s office, where they hope to identify them as Mr. McKee’s.

Adam Nightingale, Cameron’s vice president of human resources, said Mr. McKee, who is originally from Warren, lived most recently in Morgantown with his fiancee, who is pregnant with his child and is due in July.

Samuel Davis, a New Jersey attorney representing Danielle Desposito and Mr. McKee’s estate, said Wednesday night that the couple, together five years, had planned to buy a home and get married.

“This has been a very difficult day in an [extremely] horrific week” for the family, said Mr. Davis, the family spokesman. “She was in a way comforted that they would be able to have a funeral with some recovered part of Ian, and on the other side, the finding … brought a degree of finality. “The hope that Ian will come from work no longer exists.”

Stefan Radwanski, vice president and general manager of Cameron’s surface systems division, said the company has been in regular contact with the McKee family and will continue to provide for their needs. “All of us at Cameron are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with Ian McKee’s family,” he said.

Mr. McKee was working on the well with a crew of 19 other contractors on Feb. 11 when it exploded, igniting flames that were fed by leaking natural gas for five days before they finally extinguished themselves. Everyone else managed to escape the blast, with just one other employee suffering a minor injury.

Investigators finally got to look on the well pad for Mr. McKee eight days after the blast because experts from Wild Well Control of Houston finally were able to pull a charred crane off the well pad that was nearest to the still-leaking wells, said Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection deputy secretary.

That came after Wild Well finished installing a fire suppression system to constantly douse the well heads, helping to keep the natural gas from building up on site and minimizing the potential for an explosion. The company also installed tube “diverters” onto the two leaking well heads to direct the natural gas away from the well pad.

Mr. Perry said Wild Well still has to stage all the necessary equipment before the well heads can be capped, a process that could take at least another two days.

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Chevron’s solution: ‘Let them eat pizza’

Editorial, Washington PA Observer Reporter, February 19, 2014

Legend has it Marie Antoinette, when told during one of France’s famines that peasants had no bread, replied, “Let them eat brioche,” or more popularly, cake. Actually, it’s unlikely the queen ever said this. Opponents of the monarchy during the French revolution never used the quotation, but it was later cited – or perhaps invented – by some historians to illustrate how oblivious and detached the ruling class had become.

We admit it’s a little unfair to compare Chevron Corp. to the 18th-century French monarchy, but its response to residents living in the vicinity of a raging well fire last week in Greene County was widely and similarly interpreted: Then let them eat pizza.

The fire, which burned out of control for days and finally extinguished itself Saturday, killed one worker and injured another. The effort to control the blaze resulted in even more traffic and disruption than the drilling and operation of the Marcellus gas well, and so Chevron sent employees door to door to about 30 people in the area to thank them for their patience and understanding and to give them gift certificates to Bobtown Pizza. The certificates, worth $12, are good for a large pizza and a 2-liter bottle of soda.

Opponents of the gas industry immediately lit up the blogosphere with derisive and sarcastic commentary about Chevron’s magnanimous gesture. The fact Chevron made $21.4 billion in profits last year and addressed the situation in Greene County by spending $1,200 on 100 gift certificates was more than ample fuel. We wonder ourselves about the debate around the corporate table; whether giving away, say, $15 coupons would have been overly generous and fiscally irresponsible.

But the value of the compensatory gifts is not the point; more to the point is that the corporation in its gesture appears to be oblivious of the effect its operations have had on its neighbors. As important for the future of this region and this nation as the Marcellus Shale may be, extracting gas from it has negative impact on our water resources, on the air we breathe and the roads we travel. Those who live near gas wells must deal with noise, heavy truck traffic and the possibility of accidents that could force their evacuation. Certainly, the gas industry has brought jobs to the area and pumped money into our local economy, but this has not come without the surrender of some of our quality of life.

A free pizza does not even the score. The public relations folks at Chevron would have done better to have done nothing. They might have done best by simply offering a public apology for the disruption caused by the accident at the well, and a pledge to increase its commitment to safety.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Duane Nichols February 21, 2014 at 2:12 pm

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Chevron Update No. 12 (2/22/14) February 23, 2014 at 10:12 am

Chevron Update No. 12. Greene Co., PA (2/22/14)

Wild Well Control (WWC) is completing preparations to safely secure the wells. They have performed diagnostics to test the integrity of existing lower well head sections of the 7H and 6H wells. The tests were positive, which means the new capping stack can be bolted securely to the existing lower section.
 
The next step will be for WWC to cut the well heads and seal the wells with a capping stack beginning with the 7H well. The cutting operation on the upper portion of the well head will allow the capping stacks to have clear connection points. To do this, WWC will use specialized equipment that creates a high-powered stream of water and sand to cut through the upper assembly of the wellheads.
 
WWC will connect the new capping stacks to the lower section of the wellheads while the wells are flowing. This is a critical step in the operation in the effort to secure the well.
 
The cutting and capping operations are planned to occur during daylight hours because of the potential noise impact, but it is possible that operations may continue into the night. We expect cutting and capping to last one day for each well.
 
The section of the 7H wellhead where the leak occurred will be transported offsite for further analysis by an independent third party as part of the ongoing root-cause investigation.
 
Following the capping of the 7H and 6H wells, WWC will assess the integrity of the 8H well and complete any necessary repairs to secure the well head equipment. This work should be completed in one day.  Once this occurs, the well head equipment of all three wells on the Lanco “A” pad will be secured and all gas flow will be stopped.
 
WWC will install plugs as protective barriers approximately 8,000 feet below the surface in all three wells to prevent gas pressure from reaching the well head. This down-hole intervention involves several steps and should take approximately four days per well to complete.
 
Portions of these processes may involve flaring of gas.
 
These well intervention efforts involve many steps and will be executed in a precise, controlled, and methodical manner. We are striving to be efficient in our efforts to minimize the duration of the operations, however, the safety of the workers and operations will determine the appropriate pace.
 
Wild Well Control has a 38-year history of providing well control and emergency response, providing firefighting, well control, engineering and training services to the oil and gas industry worldwide. Based in Houston, Wild Well is the primary responder to more than 80 percent of all well incidents globally. WWC employs more than 350 staff in 18 locations worldwide serving independent, multi-national and state-owned oil and gas companies who operate wells onshore, in inland waters, offshore and in deep-water locations.
 
Neighbors may call a Chevron toll-free line with any questions: 1-877-847-8408.

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Chevron Update No. 14. (2/25/14) March 1, 2014 at 12:55 am

Chevron Update No. 14: Greene Co. PA Gas Well Fire

Feb. 25, 2014, 4:00 p.m. EST – Today at approximately 4:00 p.m., Wild Well Control successfully capped the second Lanco well, the 6H. At this time both wells are capped, stopping gas flow from the wells. These are significant milestones in our response efforts.

The next step is for Wild Well Control to assess the integrity of the 8H well. The integrity testing involves inspecting the seals on the well head as well as testing the integrity of the valves and ports. Once we have diagnostics from the testing, we will begin planning the path forward and complete any repairs, if necessary, to secure this final well.

The continuing well intervention efforts involve many steps and must be executed in a precise, controlled, and methodical manner. We are working to be efficient in our efforts; and the safety of the workers and operations will determine the appropriate pace.

Once it is determined that the 8H well is also secure, a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the incident will begin.

Air samples were also taken and were consistent with readings at a Pennsylvania DEP air quality station in Washington, PA. Air sampling will continue during the duration of the response activities.

Neighbors may call a Chevron toll-free line with any questions: 1-877-847-8408.

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Chevron Update No. 15 (3/4/14) March 4, 2014 at 10:27 pm

Chevron Update No. 15: Greene Co. PA Gas Well Fire

March 3, 2014, 6:00 p.m. EST – Over the last few days, Wild Well Control and Chevron conducted tests to assess the integrity of the Lanco 8H well, after previously capping the 7H and 6H wells. The testing included inspecting the seals on the well head and testing the integrity of the valves and ports. We then successfully installed a valve that shuts off the gas flow and replaced the wellhead on the Lanco 8H well. With the actions taken this weekend, all three wells on the Lanco pad are now secure.

Over the next several weeks, we will be installing plugs about 8000 feet below the surface in all three wells as an extra layer of protection to relieve any pressure on the wellheads. We are continuing to conduct our investigation into the cause of the incident in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and all appropriate regulatory authorities. 
 
Neighbors may call a Chevron toll-fee line with any questions: 1-877-847-8408.

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Public Impact News (3/12/14) March 21, 2014 at 11:22 am

CHEVRON Lanco Site: More Human Remains Found (3/12/14)

DILLINER, Pa. —A coroner says he and a team of anthropology students have recovered what they believe to be more fragmented remains of a worker who was killed when a southwestern Pennsylvania natural gas well exploded last month.

Chevron spokesman Trip Oliver says the fire was reported at about 6:45 a.m. at the Lanco 7H well in Dunkard Township, near Bobtown.

Greene County Coroner Greg Rohanna tells the (Washington) Observer-Reporter (http://bit.ly/1fmAcSP) the remains are believed to be those of 27-year-old Ian Robert McKee, of Morgantown, W.Va.

Rohanna has been assisted by Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat and students from Mercyhurst University. Other remains found previously at the Chevron well pad in Dunkard Township were also believed to be McKee’s.

McKee was a contract technician working on the well when it exploded into fire Feb. 11. A second well head nearby caught fire three days later due to flames from the first blast.

The well heads have since been secured.

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/local/fire-out-at-chevron-natural-gas-well-blast-in-greene-county/24525378#ixzz2wbvJ1ryD

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