Gas Well Explodes, on Fire in Northern W.Va.
The Associated Press
20 September 2010
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. -- Investigators are trying to determine what caused
an explosion and fire at a producing gas well in West Virginia's
Northern Panhandle.
No one was hurt in the accident Sunday at a Chesapeake Appalachia LLC
site in rural Marshall County, but it sparked a fire that may need 48
hours to burn out. The well is about nine miles from Cameron.
The Department of Environmental Protection is investigating, but plans
to monitor air quality are on hold because of the remoteness of the
site, spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said today. No homes are nearby, and the
DEP will wait for the fire to die before it begins air monitoring.
Chesapeake spokeswoman Stacey Brodak told WTOV of Steubenville, Ohio,
that the company is also investigating. Chesapeake Appalachia is a
subsidiary of Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy.
The fire is the second at a natural gas operation in Marshall County in
recent months.
Seven workers were injured June 7 in a blast near Moundsville.
Union Drilling Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, was sinking a well for AB
Resources and another company, Dallas-based Chief Oil & Natural
Gas, when it struck a methane pocket in an abandoned coal mine. As the
crew began to remove the drill string, the methane exploded.
That accident prompted a six-hour training class on gas well accidents
for emergency responders across the county, said Mike Mucheck, deputy
director of emergency services for Marshall County.
A total 44 people, mostly from volunteer fire companies, received
training last week from Texas oil and gas fire specialists Wild Well
Control.
"We learned how we can help them and they can help us," Mr. Mucheck
said.
The course wrapped up Saturday.