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Posted on 12/13/2005 5:10:43 AM PST by QwertyKPH
KINGFISHER -- Mysterious unrefined natural gas leaks erupting in rural Kingfisher County in recent days continue to have officials puzzled as to their cause.
"We originally thought a pipeline had exploded," said Matt Skinner, Oklahoma Corporation Commission public information manager. "We had the pressure to zero pressure, and the leaks seemed to get bigger. So that's not it."
Skinner had said at a press conference Monday geologists and hydrologists are beginning to study underground maps of the area to find an explanation.
"We've ruled out the probables, and now we're into the unprobables," he said. "We've never seen one like this before, one that covers such a large area. It's another animal."
Skinner said the leak was unusual because of its size and that it was "moving with no explanation."
Officials said the U.S. Geologic Survey reported no seismic activity had been reported in the area.
"They said the area had been dead for some time," Skinner said.
Skinner said the leaks and geysers were occurring closest to Winter Camp Creek, formerly Dead Indian Creek. Sunday evening, one eruption was reported in Kingfisher Creek, "up to within a mile" west of the city of Kingfisher, Skinner said, but that leak had ceased. Winter Camp Creek flows into Kingfisher Creek, which could explain why an eruption would occur near the city, he said.
Kingfisher Fire Chief Jack Crawford said the leaks, which cover a stretch of 12 to 13 miles between Kingfisher and Okarche "had not progressed toward Kingfisher" since Sunday afternoon.
"The bulk of the action is in the creek -- in terms of the visual," Skinner said. "It's one long continuous leak."
Skinner said the leaks have been in areas close to the creek between the cities.
"They seem to be staying near the creek," he said. "It runs over the length."
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol used a plane to survey the area where the geysers were occurring, Crawford said, but discovered nothing unusual.
"They saw nothing," he said. "There was nothing out of the ordinary."
Skinner said reports of the geysers were first received Friday by hunters who reported the gushing holes of gas, water and mud to the local game warden, who then contacted the Corpora-tion Commission.
Voluntary evacuation has been established by Kingfisher Emergency Management, and the Red Cross has opened a comfort station at First Baptist Church on 13th Street.
"If people don't feel safe at their homes, we have a place for them to go," said Kingfisher Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis.
As of Monday afternoon, no one had used the provided comfort station.
By Monday, smaller geysers had appeared about eight and a half miles west and a mile north of Okarche on a county road.
For about 50 yards, small geysers pocked the north side of the dirt road, bubbling and spitting gas and mud. Sounding like a pot of boiling water, other geysers on the south side of the road, for a stretch of about 20 yards, did the same.
Some of the geysers shot only inches into the air, but others shot water into the air as much as two feet.
The areas where the geysers have occurred have been cordoned off, and Crawford advised people to stay away.
"You don't know if it's coming up from 10 feet or 140 feet below ground," he said. "It's very dangerous."
Officials have said the threat of the gas igniting is unlikely. Loftis said ignition would only be possible if there was direct contact with an open flame, as in a grassfire or use of a propane torch.
"It would be flammable if only you were right at the source," Loftis said.
The area about seven miles southwest of Kingfisher where the leak was first found still spews cold water mixed with mud. The size of the hole has remained the same since Saturday afternoon, but signs of water from the geyser reaching further out are evident.
A radius of about 8 feet from the geyser shows signs of wetness, and a smaller geyser only feet from the big one, gurgles with as much force as before.
About a mile east of a geyser that took a portion of a county road, a water spout reaching heights of about 10 feet keeps a constant spray, this time in a wheat field.
"Welcome to Yellowstone," joked a passerby Monday. Many people had been driving to the areas where the geysers are to see what people were talking about.
The U.S. Army National Guard Civil Support Team from Norman had been sent to Kingfisher, but was sent back when the need for evacuation was eliminated.
However, officials said the group was on stand-by if the need arose.
No one in Kingfisher County has left their homes because of the geysers, Loftis said. Authorities have asked those who smell the gas near their homes to voluntarily evacuate.
Although county officials are telling residents to check well sites for gas, which smells like modeling glue or rubber cement, Kingfisher's water supply is safe.
"The city gets its water from Cimarron Terrace," Loftis said at a press conference near one of the geysers. "There is little chance it could affect our drinking water."
Oh that's just great QKPH, there goes my appetite!
Isn't there a rather large fault line somewhere in the central part of the country? I thought I heard about one either in Kansas or Missouri.
Kingfisher is smack dab in the middle of a "known" oil&gas field -- the Sooner Trend.
No salt domes in Oklahoma. They're all along the Gulf Coast -- TX, Louisiana, MS, AL. The salt in the mid-continent is called "bedded salt" and exists in stratas interspersed with other minerals--not used for storage.
That's the New Madrid--see post #18. Not anywhere near Kingfisher, OK. Does have constant low-level seismic activity, though. Look on the earthquake-watcher webpages some time. Always something shakin' in the New Madrid seismic zone.
The article said the USGS said the area has been dead for seismic activity for some time, which surprised me. The largest "felt" earthquake in OK was in El Reno, due south of Kingfisher, many years ago, but the last measurable small rumblings were just in May 2005.
If you go to the OGS (Oklahoma Geological Survey) website, there's a slide show-type program showing mapped locations in OK of all the more noticeable seismic occurrences since 1977 thru last year, I believe. A majority of them have occurred in the area of El Reno, with one major in Kingfisher in mid 1980s--I think it was either 1984 or 1987.
Anything I could think of (my theory was a nearby new well being drilled perhaps loosening some underground formation with a gas trap adjacent--but now we know it's following a surface formation--the creekbed--so that's out) -- wouldn't touch all the things that the consulted experts must have ruled out already.
It's a real mystery! (And I don't remember your FST reference, just "Don't Crush that Dwarf, Give Me the Pliers" and "Antelope Freeway, 1 mile ... Antelope Freeway, 1/2 mile ... Antelope Freeway, 1/4th mile ... Antelope Freeway, 1/8th mile ...".)
Anybody have any updated news from there? Any developments?
Tue December 13, 2005
Geysers near Kingfisher spew gas, spur confusion
By Tony Thornton
The Oklahoman
http://newsok.com/article/1703436/
“Charles Mankin, director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, said: "It's happened before and it'll happen again."
He said the most likely cause is a drill that let natural gas to escape into permeable underground layers.
"It's man-induced," he said. "There is no geologic activity out there that would cause that."
Their quandary: Why did miniature geysers suddenly emerge along a 10-mile stretch of Winter Camp Creek?
Their mission: To make them subside, or at least to control them before they become a health hazard.
Three days after a hunter first spotted water and mud bursting up southwest of Kingfisher, the mystery remained...”
[Inset Article]What's happening in Kingfisher?
Nobody is sure why geysers have sprung up in the area, but experts offered some explanations.
Blaming Mother Nature
Jim Puckette, a professor of geology at Oklahoma State University, said such natural fractures within rock are not unheard of in western Oklahoma. He said he has not seen the geysers or talked to anyone about them.
"You get a gas bubble liberated from a deeper oil and gas reservoir, and the gas expands as it rises."
The gas typically dissipates pretty quickly in open areas with some wind. But there's not much that can be done to control them, he said. They have to run their course.
He said the pressure can lift large rocks into the air, and the main danger is the natural gas getting into water sources.
Bruce Bell, chairman of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association of Oklahoma, agreed the leak could be caused by natural events such as an earthquake.
If, however, it is natural seepage, Bell said the incident could lead to even more production.
"When the oil business started, one way to find drilling sites was to look for oil seeps," he said. "The seal over a reservoir often is not perfect."
Some eye drilling
The geology in the area makes natural gas seepage unlikely, said Galen Miller, geologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey, and there has been no seismic activity in the area for at least two weeks.
Miller said the most likely cause is equipment failure in a natural gas well. "It could be an old abandoned well that somebody didn't cap properly," he said. "The most logical explanation to us is that the casing of somebody's well is leaking."
Oil and natural gas wells are encased in pipe and, in some cases, concrete. But if a section of the pipe failed, Miller said, pressure could build up until the gas could surface.
Charles Mankin, director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, said: "It's happened before and it'll happen again."
He said the most likely cause is a drill that let natural gas to escape into permeable underground layers.
"It's man-induced," he said. "There is no geologic activity out there that would cause that."
This is an odd scientific discovery that may or may not portend a future event. Thought this would be an interesting read.
KSWO out of Lawton had a piece this morning. Evidently Cheapeake Oil has been drilling in the area and it's now thought the drilling has somehow caused the natural gas to burble to the surface. Chesapeake is studying the problem on how to correct it and promises to reimburse people for any damages.
Holy bubbling puddles Batman!
It would be interesting if it turned out to be a massive oil field !
Thanks for the Ping, Sully.
Show me da money!
With this release of greenhouse gases, how are they going to compensate the world for global warming? We're DOOMED!
As per seismic fault lines, I seem to recall Oklahoma having numerous faults that lead into the New Madrid. IRC local histories of bells ringing out in New York City from the New Madrid quake due to the nature of the ground.
Earthquakes are ruled out in the story, except seismic activity at New Madrid for the past week. Interesting.
http://newsok.com/article/1704406/?template=home/main
More information about the Chesapeake well.
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