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."
I would almost bet we are fixing to have something along the lines of a major earthquake on the New Madrid fault. I hope not, but this is just too wierd for words.
The Meers fault in the southwestern part of the state is big enough to see for much of its 16-mile length; it was relatively dormant for a few millennia, but then exploded about 1600 years ago into a quake estimated at magnitude 7.0. The worst quake to hit the state in recent years, though, wasn't along the Meers, but along a fault line running from El Reno to Kingfisher; it struck El Reno in 1952.
I tell you one thing; that's an area that I'm NOT camping in with my trusty Coleman lantern.
http://www.solutionmining.org/cmsFiles/Files/BriefHistory.pdf
FYI: there was a incident in Brad, TX on Friday @ 0200 that is similar but maybe different.
On Thursday, a drilling rig hit an unexpected gas pocket. The excessive gas was burned off until a heavier drilling mud was pumped into the hole to kill the well. As they were testing the new zone, gas begain to erupt from the ground away from the rig (a hundred yards or so). Around 2 am Friday morning the gas exploded a few hundred yards from the rig and blew a hole over a hundreds yards across and 60 feet deep. As of this morning, gas is still burning in the crater.
Speculation is that when the gas pocket as hit, gas had flown into a oil zone that was tapped back in the 20's or 30's and filled this zone. When the well was killed, weight required to kill the well was well below the older zone and continued to build up. They guess that rocks banging into each other caused heat/sparks to ignite the gas.
Many wells from the 20's or so were not properly cemented & cased and even worse when they were plugged IF they were plugged. Some were just capped at the top of the casing. Gas can easily migrate through the old bore and out on the ground.
My dad said that there were also some old salt caverns from the 50's in that area that were abandoned. They had been used to store waste gas. Abandoned caverns were supposed to be filled with brine.
Thanks for the ping--I'll read the pdf file in a minute.
I wanted to say something about the Brad, TX, incident. Wouldn't that be the "Palo Pinto" explosion and fire near Possum Kingdom? I kept trying to find some info on it, but never did. The flames could be seen from over 100 miles away. It was reported here in south Texas on our TV news as a Fort Worth newsmaker; then I never saw any follow-up. I thought they said it had to do with the gathering system there--they called it a "pipeline" explosion" at the time.
Here's the latest FW *Startlegram* story I found:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13436337.htm
And here's a pdf for you, plus an excerpt:
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/Hutch/GasStorage/ratigan.pdf
"Bedded salt formations differ significantly from salt domes. Bedded salt formations consist of “layers” of salt interbedded with nonsalt rocks, such as shale, dolomite, and/or anhydrite. Bedded salt formations can vary considerably from one another. Additionally, a bedded salt formation within a specific basin can vary from one part of the basin to the other. For example, the Hutchinson bedded salt unit is only 40 to 50 percent salt in Oklahoma; whereas, in central Kansas, the Hutchinson salt unit can be as much as 80 percent sodium chloride. The principal “impurity” or nonsalt rock in the Hutchinson salt formation is shale. These impurities exist in small percentages within the salt beds, but primarily exist as distinct geologic units separating beds or layers of salt within the salt formation. The only salt formations usable for storage caverns in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are salt domes.
Texas is the only state that has both bedded salt and salt domes (at usable depths). The only salt formations in Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania are bedded salt formations."
~~~~~~~~
The map that was in the pdf you linked, showing all the "salt cavern" storage in the US, with a location shown in central Oklahoma, showed all types of "salt caverns," not just salt domes. Those are gaps left by salt mining or solution mining which dissolved the underground salt.
I know this firsthand as my dad was a "salt dome geologist" from the area of Oklahoma shown. He called himself that because it was the "old school" type of oil & gas exploration. The only time he got to work with salt domes was here on the Gulf Coast, because there were none in his native Oklahoma. (But salt domes and anticlines weren't the only petroleum-bearing formations he worked with, overall--just his "favorites.")
Serval other pdf files I found were book size, so we'll have to wait on the other people to report back in.
Palo Pinto County is old family stomping grounds and I have never been able to spend the years of time I would like to out there. Old family is from Santo (sharecroppers). The older members are moving back as they retire. Great fishing at Lake Palo Pinto, but don't tell anyone.
Don't know much about Palo Pinto Co, myself, but had several college friends from Wichita Falls who water skied every summer at Possum Kingdom. The name always tickled me.
I was jealous of one *special* friend's attachment to the other ladies he went to PK with, since I wasn't around to have all that fun with them. Then I finally got to *see* it for myself and was slightly underwhelmed. Looked like the craters of the moon to me. Nowadays, I might appreciate its scenic beauty a little more, however.
Ummm, I gotta ask ... who is it you give 'no quarter' to with your nickname? I hope you don't mean the defenders of the Alamo.
Do I sell now B4 the maggot lawyers line up to sue CHK?
Dead Indian Creek Ping
Good answer. Hearing the strains of the Deguello is kinda like hearing "Texas Fights" to this OU Sooner - or "Hullabaloo kaneck kaneck" to one them thar 'Horndogs.
Col. Travis would be proud of you for remembering. (And not calling yourself "Darlin'," darlin'.)
Has to do with my soon to be EX wife.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.