From D. K. Wright, WTRF News 7, 1:00 PM, March 6, 2018

Belmont County – XTO Energy says they’re “coming down the home stretch,” repairing problems caused by that Feb. 15 well pad explosion in Powhatan.

At this hour, workers are getting ready to go in and kill that well.

XTO’s spokesperson says in order to do that, they’ll have to divert the gas first.

“What we’re hoping to do this afternoon, weather permitting, is to divert the gas flow that’s coming from the well that had the loss of control incident, into what we call a burn pit,” explained Karen Matusic, XTO public affairs manager.

“We’ve excavated a pit where we’re going to safely burn that natural gas, which will be better for the environment and will create a safe area for the workers to go in and shut off that well.”

Matusic says the gas will flare down into the burn pit that’s 50 feet high and 90 feet wide.

She says the noise won’t be any louder than what people in the area are hearing now.

She says hopefully the process will be completed within a few days.

She says they apologize for the incident and thank everyone–from residents to first responders to the news media–for their patience.

http://www.wtrf.com/community/powhatan-gas-well-that-exploded-is-about-to-be-killed/1013595485