Agency nears decision on expanding drilling under lake bottom

Mpls (red)Star Tribune / AP ^ | 9/9/01

[Valin]

FILER TOWNSHIP, MICH. -- For Vicki Hoffman, the debate over drilling for oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes hits close to home.

Just down a dirt road leading into the woods, in a clearing surrounded by a chain-link fence, is the wellhead of a pipeline that runs deep below Lake Michigan a quarter of a mile away.

[hauerf]

"We'll be forever held hostage" by foul odors and the threat of poisonous emissions, she said.

Lighten up, lady!

[Valin]

It's the end of the world as we know it....and I feel fine

[Realist]

"It's not that we object to all wells or processing plants, but they should not be put in the middle of a housing proj ect ...

Unless it were in her backyard. Then there would be no odor.....just royalty checks!

[eno_]

There is almost no odor until the odorant is added. It is added to make people notice gas leaks before it is too late.

[jimt]

There is almost no odor until the odorant is added. It is added to make people notice gas leaks before it is too late.

The odor they're describing is not the odorant added to natural gas to make it safer.

It's a contaminant, from the viewpoint of the oilfield industry, called hydrogen sulfide, chemical formula H2S. It smells like rotten eggs, not the pungent smell of the odorant.

This is the contaminant found in "sour" wells. It's very poisonous, and highly corrosive. "Sour" wells require special equipment made of different materials than used elsewhere, typically softer metals and more massive parts, due to the lower strength, more ductile materials.

That said, the production people are very careful with H2S control. If you can smell it, it's dangerous. It would be interesting to research the ture nature of the complaints. If it's H2S, somebody's being very sloppy.