DEP halts fracking after well blowout

BY LAURA LEGERE

Times-Shamrock Writer

An out-of-control Susquehanna County natural gas well released waste fluids to a Forest Lake Twp.well pad early last week, leading state regulators to halt all activity at the site.

Two valves failed during fracking at Carrizo Marcellus’ Baker 4H well during the afternoon of Jan. 30, according to a Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman and a violation report issued by the agency.

The company was in the fifth stage of hydraulically fracturing the well, a process that generally involves injecting chemically treated water and sand at high pressure underground to free gas from rock. Company representatives told regulators at the site that they were injecting water and sand without chemical additives at the time of the failure.

Regulators asked again later if additives were used in the well, and the answer is “pending,” DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said.

“We didn’t get reports of any injuries or any contamination to the nearby area but our investigation is continuing,” she said.

Regulators noted that the fluid coming out of the well was “relatively clear.” Radiological tests and measurements of methane in the atmosphere showed nothing higher than normal background levels at the well pad, she said.

The department did not release an estimate of how much fluid escaped from the well, but Ms. Connolly said the fluid was flowing out at a rate of about 300 to 400 gallons a minute for less than half an hour. According to a violation notice issued to the company, the well control specialty firm Boots & Coots arrived at the site and helped Carrizo personnel shut down the well completely at about 6 p.m.

The department “strongly” recommended that Carrizo halt all fracking operations in the state “until the cause of this problem and a solution are identified,” regulators wrote in the violation notice.

Inspection reports from this week noted operations at the Baker site were shut down at least through Wednesday, but Ms. Connolly did not know Friday if operations are still on hold.

Efforts to reach a Carrizo Oil and Gas spokesman at the company’sHouston,Texas, headquarters were unsuccessful.

Inspection reports show workers successfully replaced the failed valves and completed the initial cleanup at the site by Tuesday. Boots & Coots performed an audit of the problem wellhead and fracking equipment on Wednesday.

Carrizo was to submit a report to the state by Tuesday detailing what was in the spilled fluid and how it was contained before it reached a nearby waterway, as well as an explanation of the failure’s root cause and a sampling plan for any impact to the well site.

Ms. Connolly said the company submitted its response but she did not have a copy of the report to release on Friday.

Carrizo has drilled 67 wells inPennsylvania, most of them inWyomingand Susquehanna counties, according to state data.