Texas team caps blowout in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Inquirer:

Clearfield County has a long history of timber and coal extraction, and many here eagerly welcomed the economic promise of Marcellus Shale natural gas exploration.

But the June 3 blowout of a Marcellus gas well was a reminder that natural-resource development does not come without costs.

Workers lost control of the well on the Punxsutawney Hunting Club grounds, and it unleashed a combustible 75-foot fountain of natural gas and toxic wastewater.

Precious hours were lost when a blowout-control team from Texas was unable to land at the fogged-in regional airport and was diverted to Johnstown, 60 miles away. When the crew arrived at the well, it needed only an hour to cap the blowout. But by then, the gusher had spewed for 16 hours.

No one was injured, state officials called the environmental damage modest, and the well did not ignite - unlike a Marcellus well in West Virginia that leaked, caught fire, and injured seven workers last week.

The Clearfield incident prompted anti-drilling activists to renew calls for a moratorium on new wells, and state environmental officials promised an aggressive investigation.

Taking away a different lesson from the nerve-wracking experience were the members of the Clearfield County Commission.

While withholding judgment on the performance of the company whose well blew out, EOG Resources Inc., the three commissioners said in an interview Thursday that they had written to the Texas contractor whose rapid-response team capped the runaway well and impressed local officials with its daring.

They invited the contractor, Wild Well Control Inc., to locate an office in Clearfield so that next time there is a blowout, a crew would be poised to react more quickly.

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This is an example of how quickly these problems can be controlled when they are not under deep water. I am sure the local officials would like it done even quicker, but the team got it done in good time once they were able to get to it. The production of oil and gas is not without its occasional drama, but most of the problems can be quantified and dealt with in reasonable time. We need to continue to exploit these resources and deal with the problems until AlGore invents magic energy, which means we have a aways to go with carbon based energy.