Beaver Run Reservoir, Westmoreland County, PA

From an Article by Anya Litvak, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, February 2, 2019

CNX Resources Corp. has spent the past week trying to get a Utica Shale well near the Beaver Run Reservoir in Westmoreland County under control after a problem there was followed by gas pressures spiking at nearby shallow wells.

The Cecil-based oil and gas firm was fracking its Shaw 1G well in Washington Township on Jan. 26 when it detected a strong drop in pressure, the company told environmental regulators. It stopped fracking and found some type of obstruction in the well bore, said state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Lauren Fraley.

CNX also told the PA-DEP that four conventional — that is, shallower, vertical wells — nearby showed spikes in pressure, a sign of communication between the gas in the Utica well and the four other wells in the vicinity.

Neighbors described a parade of trucks and hard-hatted workers dispatched to the Shaw pad and to properties with shallow wells, some of which are being flared to relieve the pressure. Residents were on guard about the activity — and what it might mean for conventional wells on their properties.

A PA-DEP crew has been stationed at the site around the clock and will remain there until “we feel confident that the situation is under control,” Ms. Fraley said.

A special well control team had been summoned from out of state to “kill” the well, a procedure that involves pumping heavy mud into the wellbore to stop the flow and keep it down. That had not yet happened by Saturday evening.

Ms. Fraley said at this point, the agency is not aware of any pollution or impacts to environmental resources as a result of the situation.

A statement from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, which operates the Beaver Run Reservoir and supplies water to more than 120,000 customers, assured that water quality has not been compromised.

“Any activity on our watershed is monitored intently,” the statement said. “Our water quality surveillance is increased any time there is any activity on our property. It is very comprehensive and has not noted any changes.”

The path of the well travels under the reservoir but it isn’t clear how far along that path the well had been fracked when the problem occurred. Fracking involves pumping fluid and sand at high pressure into a well bore to create cracks in the shale where gas is trapped.

According to the well records available in PA-DEP’s database, the Shaw 1G well plunged 13,740 feet below the surface, more than 2 miles deep, and extended some 8,000 feet horizontally. It is not yet known how the gas from it impacted the four conventional wells that are many thousands of feet shallower.

CNX said, in part, that “company personnel and specialized consultants are monitoring existing nearby gas wells and are continuing to manage any potential gas communication to those wells.”

“There have been no injuries and no impact to the local community or the environment,” the statement said, noting that the company is in close contact with MAWC and other stakeholders and would provide “further updates as appropriate.”

Shaw 1G is on the same pad as three other shale wells and within a half mile radius of more than two dozen other oil and gas wells, including Marcellus Shale wells, operating conventional wells, plugged wells, and those considered inactive.

Two of the impacted conventional wells are close to the Utica well pad, Ms. Fraley said, and the other two are “a few thousand feet” away. The conventional wells don’t belong to CNX. The DEP did not identify the owners of the impacted conventional wells.

Paperwork that CNX submitted to the DEP when it was about to drill the Shaw 1G well shows there are at least four private water wells within 3,000 feet of the pad. One is on the property of Robert Schimizzi.

Mr. Schimizzi said he returned from out of town on Friday to find hundreds of trucks bustling about the area, with dozers and tanks stationed at conventional wells that don’t typically get this kind of attention.

He has one of those gas wells on his property that is operated by a firm other than CNX. It supplies gas to his home. When he was gone, his girlfriend said someone working in the area asked if it would be OK to shut off the gas well, but given the temperature she declined.

His water well is fine and his gas remains on, although he did have to reignite pilot lights Saturday, Mr. Schimizzi said.

Three other neighbors with water wells also reported no impacts to the Post-Gazette, but all were concerned that no company or regulatory officials have been in touch to check or inform them of the situation.

“Hey guys, I live there. Am I in danger?,” Mr. Schimizzi said. “At least somebody tap on my door and tell me.” He said he planned to turn off his connection to the gas well before going to sleep on Saturday night.

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See also: Gas well pressure issue leads to testing of water supply for northern Westmoreland County communities | Pittsburgh Tribune Review, February 4, 2019