DEP Orders EOG Resources to Halt All Natural Gas Drilling
Activities in
PA
PA-DEP News Release
7 June 2010
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Neil Weaver, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection today ordered
EOG Resources Inc. to suspend its natural gas well drilling activities
in Pennsylvania after a June 3 blowout at one of the company’s
Clearfield County wells sent natural gas and at least 35,000 gallons of
drilling wastewater into the sky and over the ground for 16 hours.
DEP Secretary John Hanger said that while the order bans all drilling
and hydrofracturing, or fracking, operations for specified periods of
time, the suspension will remain in effect until DEP has completed a
comprehensive investigation into the leak and the company has
implemented any needed changes.
“DEP staff, along with an independent expert, will conduct a detailed
investigation of not just the incident that occurred last week in
Clearfield County, but of EOG Resources’ drilling operations, as a
whole, here in Pennsylvania,” said Hanger. “The Clearfield County
incident presented a serious threat to life and property. We are
working with the company to review its Pennsylvania drilling operations
fully from beginning to end to ensure an incident of this nature does
not happen again.”
The order prohibits EOG Resources from drilling activities up to seven
days; from engaging in fracking operations up to 14 days; and from
completing or initiating post-fracking operations for 30 days in any
wells throughout the state. These actions and operations cannot resume
until the department agrees that the investigation has been fully
completed.
The results of the investigation will also help determine whether DEP
should take additional enforcement action against the company, such as
fines or penalties.
Hanger added that EOG Resources has been fully cooperative and in
agreement with the department’s ongoing investigation and order.
The leak began at approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, when the
well’s operators lost control of it while preparing to extract gas
after fracking the shale. As a result, natural gas and flowback frack
fluid was released uncontrollably onto the ground and 75 feet into the
air. The well was capped at around noon on June 4.
The EOG well pad is located in a rural area near the Penfield/Route 153
exit of Interstate 80 in northwestern Clearfield County, near Moshannon
State Forest.
The department’s Emergency Response and Oil and Gas programs responded
to the incident, along with the Pennsylvania State Police, the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and local fire and police
departments.
PEMA elevated its activation level to coordinate resources among
multiple state agencies and worked with PennDOT and the Federal
Aviation Administration to institute a temporary airspace restriction
above the well. The restriction was lifted at approximately 1:45 p.m.
on June 4.
“Fortunately, the well did not ignite and explode, and there were no
injuries to the well crew or emergency responders,” said Hanger. “Our
preliminary assessment is that the environmental damage was modest as
the frack fluid was contained and did not appear to reach any streams,
but DEP is continuing its monitoring efforts because sometimes the
impacts of a spill like this are delayed. We have noted that a spring
in the area has shown a spike in conductivity and that discharge is
being collected by EOG for proper disposal.”
The secretary noted that the company expects to have a more accurate
estimate of the amount of fracking water that was leaked after it
finishes draining the pits and waterboxes it deployed to collect the
fluids. As of June 7, initial estimates totaled 35,000 gallons,
although more was certainly released and the company believes this
accounts for a majority of the leaked water.
DEP’s preliminary investigation has determined that a blowout preventer
on the well failed, but the agency does not yet know if that failure
was the main cause of the incident. The blowout preventer has been
secured and will be one piece of the investigation.
EOG Resources, formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Co., operates
approximately 265 active wells in Pennsylvania, 117 of which are in the
Marcellus Shale formation.
For more information, visit http://www.depweb.state.pa.us