XTO Shale Gas Well out of control near Powhatan Pt., Monroe County, Ohio

Reporting by Scott DiSavino and Kim Palmer, Reuters News Service, March 7, 2018

(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp’s XTO Energy unit said on Wednesday it plugged a blown out natural gas well in rural southeast Ohio that had been leaking for nearly three weeks.

The Feb. 15 blowout in Belmont County had spewed millions of cubic feet of gas into the air, triggering evacuations of nearby residences and raising concerns among environmental groups about health and environmental impacts.

Exposure to low levels of natural gas is not harmful to human health, according to the National Institutes of Health, but extremely high levels can cause loss of consciousness or death by displacing oxygen.

“We would like to press for a full accounting of the damage,” said Melanie Houston, director of climate programs for the Ohio Environmental Council, an environmental advocacy group.

XTO spokeswoman Karen Matusic said the company could not immediately say how much gas leaked from the well, which was about to be put into production after being drilled and fracked.

An initial report from the Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 17 estimated the natural gas flow rate from the well at 100 million cubic feet per day. Earthworks, an environmental group, compared the magnitude of the XTO well blowout with some of the biggest methane releases in the United States.

Matusic said the company has been taking air samples since the blowout and “never picked up anything that would harm humans or animals.”

Following the well blowout, emergency responders evacuated about 30 homes within one mile of the well. Residents of all but four homes located within a half mile of the well were able to return home within a few days, Matusic said.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the lead government agency at the XTO well pad. Officials at the DNR were not immediately available for comment

The U.S. EPA said it responded to a fire at the well on Feb. 15 to provide technical assistance and air monitoring at the site. Because there were no apparent release of oil or hazardous substances, the EPA said it demobilized on Feb. 21.

An unknown quantity of brine and produced water, estimated to be more than 5,000 gallons, was initially discharged to streams that flow into the Ohio River, according to the EPA.

Protected wildlife species located in proximity to or downstream from the well site are the Eastern Hellbender Salamander, Northern longeared bat, and protected fish.

See Video Here: XTO Gas Well Blowout near Powhatan Point, Ohio – YouTube

Ohio Valley Utica Gas Well Out of Control

Well Head Repair Failed in Monroe County; Repairs Could Take One More Week

From the Report by Rachael Dierkes, WTRF News 7, December 17, 2014, 9:49 AM

Monroe County Emergency Management released the following update:

“Today (Wednesday), access will return to the same schedule as earlier this week. Residents will be allowed limited access to their homes during daytime hours 7:00am – 6:00pm with the assistance of Sardis VFD.  The limitation also applies to air traffic. A NO FLY ZONE has been established for 5,000 feet and a 3 mile radius and will remain in effect throughout the operation. Accommodations for residents of the 30 homes evacuated continue to be provided. A Family Assistance Center will be set up at 10:30am this morning (Wednesday) at the Lee Township Building (formerly Sardis School) to allow a larger, more relaxed location for residents.”

This is an update from Monroe County on the situation with the gas well.  It was released late Tuesday night:” Today’s (Tuesday’s) operations at the Stalder 3UH location owned by Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Triad Hunter LLC outside of Sardis, Ohio confirmed that the first attempt at  returning the well to normal by repairing the existing night cap failed.

This method was initially chosen as it was the fastest way to return residents to their homes and bring the well under control.

Tomorrow, (Wednesday) Wild Well Control will take a different approach to their operations.  They will begin the process of replacing the well head, which is the most effective industry standard for well containment.  This operation will take substantially more time and is estimated to last for the next seven days.

As of tomorrow (Wednesday), access will return to the same schedule as earlier this week. Residents will be allowed limited access to their homes during daytime hours 7:00am – 6:00pm with the assistance of Sardis VFD.  The limitation also applies to air traffic.  A NO FLY ZONE has been established for 5,000 feet and a 3 mile radius and will remain in effect throughout the operation. Accommodations for residents of the 30 homes evacuated continue to be provided.

Representatives from both companies continue to meet daily with local and state partners including Sardis VFD, Monroe County Emergency Management, Ohio Emergency Management, Ohio EPA, and Ohio DNR Division of Oil and Gas to discuss ongoing efforts to secure the well site, maintain safety of responders and residents by continuous stationary and mobile air monitoring with zero gas detection outside the well pad site.  We continue to limit the public’s access to the immediate area and an additional buffer area up to a 1 ½ mile radius while actions are taken to restore the site to normal.

Every effort is being taken to monitor the environment and support and protect the lives and property of residents and responders.

See also:  www.FrackCheckWV.net

A Chesapeake spokesperson stated that the cause of the well blowout in Bradford County appears to be a failure of a flange connection to the well head on the surface and there is no evidence of any problems with the well itself.  The well blowout occurred on April 19th and spewed thousands of gallons of frack water into a trout stream and tributary to the Susquehanna River,  Towanda Creek, for more than half a day before it was diverted.

The state Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to Chesapeake on April 22 asking the company to provide information surrounding the incident, including the cause of the accident, the contents of the fracking fluid that spilled and an explanation for why Chesapeake took 12 hours to address the uncontrolled leak. The department said it has received and is reviewing Chesapeake’s response but is yet to make it public.

Chesapeake suspended fracking operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia during the investigation of the cause.  Chesapeake has not set a date for the resumption of fracking in those states. Full story

A press relesase by Chesapeake says, “Chesapeake has voluntarily suspended all completion operations in Pennsylvania as we evaluate this incident.” Ken Ward reported in his Sustained Outrage blog “Rory Sweeney, a spokesman for Chesapeake, just clarified that Chesapeake has halted  “fracking” operations at all of its eastern operations,including in West Virginia, while it investigates the Pennsylvania incident.”

Thousands of gallons of toxic frack fluid flowed into a stream in Bradford County, Pa after a Chesapeake well blowout that began at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.  It took till mid-afternoon Wednesday for Chesapeake’s crews to stop the fracturing fluid from running into a nearby tributary of Towanda Creek — a state-designated trout stock fishery that eventually flows into the Susquehanna River.  Seven families who live adjacent to the site in Leroy were evacuated as a precaution, and a local farmer was told to not let his cows drink surface water on his farm, officials said.

Read more: Post Gazette story, 4-21-11