http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=smpw0Ee-OuQ
Posted on 01/06/2012 9:52:38 AM PST by thackney
A Chesapeake Energy drilling rig caught fire Thursday night outside of Sweetwater, Okla., according to a company spokesman and an online oil field drilling forum.
The rig was drilling into a shallow gas pocket about four miles outside of Sweetwater when workers found an unexpectedly high pressure of natural gas at only 910 feet below the surface, Jim Gipson, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail. The site was supposed to be drilled to more than 12,000 feet vertically before being drilled horizontally, Gipson said.
Soon after workers experienced the high pressure, the rig caught fire, sending flames several feet into the air, according to Drilling Ahead, an online drilling forum.
No injuries were reported, Gipson said.
“Well-control specialists are on the location,” Gipson said. ” There will be (a) very thorough investigation into the cause of the incident.”
The rig was owned by Nomac Drilling, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy.
Unexpected? Drink.
Thank God.
My maternal grandfather died from a well fire, back in the '50s. He lingered for 2 weeks.
Technology is certainly better today.
/johnny
Jan. 5th 2012 10pm
Nomac Drilling Rig #17 drilled into a shallow gas pocket soon after spudding in at a drilling depth of 900’ northwest of Sweetwater, Oklahoma this evening around 6pm and burned to the ground. No injuries were reported.
Workers stated that they encountered the abnormally pressurized zone at relief time around 6pm when the relief crew was in the change house.
It was first thought that they had encountered a shallow air pocket but after testing with a “sniffer” (a device to determine the presence of hydrocarbons) the well soon caught fire.
Witnesses 3/4 of a mile to the north reported hearing a loud “boom” from their residence “and then it sounded like a jet engine was right outside our home”.
When they drove down to the drill site to investigate the well was discharging fluid into the air, soon after that something ignited the gas and the rig caught fire.
Bar Hoppers (used to increase the mud weight and counter downhole pressures) were not yet rigged up. A gas separator, chokes and a BOP stack were also on location and waiting to be rigged up and tested as soon as the surface portion of the hole was completed.
Without these blowout prevention devices in place there is little to nothing that can be done to control the well.
It’s very unusual to hit a shallow air pocket in the area and even rarer to encounter any hydrocarbons at this shallow depth above the planned surface casing.
El Reno, Oklahoma based Nomac Drilling is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, one of the nations most active drillers.
Were they expecting a cavern instead, much like in SW Texas?
Happens very rarely when drilling surface hole. The blow out preventer is bolted to the surface pipe after it is cemented in the ground, probably at about 1500 ft deep in this area, so it is unavailable for use when drilling the surface hole.
Usually these types of blowouts go out on there own pretty quickly.
I have been on the rig floor a couple of times when a blowout has occurred and you learn how fast you can go down a slide and run.
I imagine the next step will be large fines to the driller for all the air pollution that was caused, along with CO2 bills!
Perfect timing for Hussein to ban all US drilling.
“This will be used to prove that fracking is a dangerous way to drill for natural gas and should be banned. These things could catch fire.”
Of course this blow out has nothing to do with fracking. The frack job is done after the well is drilled.
But this fire, and earthquakes several miles lower than the pumping zones, are all that is needed to create propaganda by the Beltway Boys, as they flit from one Georgetown back slapping party to another.
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