Sometimes picture proof is all you need. Check out this photo by David Minton of the Eagle Ridge Operating LLC well in Denton spewing fracking fluid and gas into the air. This is not a picture of something leaking, it is a picture of something shooting into the air or spewing maybe but not leaking. It looks a lot like a blowout.
Note that Eagle Ridge did not get to the scene for 2 hours. Then it took them 2 hours and 40 minutes to contain the accident. So if there is an accident at one of the gas wells near your home, just hang on, for hours and hours…
We still don’t know what happened at this site. This is an old well that has changed operators.
Remember, wells are not inspected, violations are not enforced and fines are not enough to deter repeat offenders. As all these wells in the Barnett Shale age, expect more accidents like this one. We need public service announcements that tell people to have emergency bags packed if you live by Barnett Shale wells because you may need to flee from your home any time day or night.
Post from yesterday about this incident.
UPDATE: I do not see any evidence that this had anything to do with an ongoing frack job or flowback operations as some have said. It looks like a workover rig is up. From the news yesterday it said residents saw what looked to them like water vapor spewing into the air the night before. If they were in the flowback process as some have suggested, I think there would have been workers or a worker on the site…unless Eagle Ridge can’t afford to pay a crew. The story yesterday says a pipe came loose.
Why don’t we know what was going on here? Wouldn’t the Denton Gas Well Administrator Darren Groth know if there was a frack job or workover taking place? Did anyone ask him?
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The citizens had to wait until Eagle Ridge Operating showed up???
Shouldn’t Denton’s emergency responders be able to arrive in a timely fashion to contain these sort of incidents? Even Arlington’s firefighters are now trained in knowing how to handle gas well emergencies.
See this link: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/tarrant/arlington-firefighters-train-for-drilling-disaster-natural-gas-wells-169222526.html
Here is the event log from TCEQ. Look at the amounts of contaminates released at the bottom of the page and of course it was Eagle Ridge again.
Regulated entity name BRADFORD 1 Physical location 4554 JIM CHRISTAL RD
Regulated entity RN number RN106359482 City, County DENTON, DENTON
Type(s) of air emissions event: EMISSIONS EVENT Event began: 04/19/2013 8:00AM
This is based on the: INITIAL REPORT Event ended: 04/19/2013 3:39PM
Cause The completion rig crew on location were coming out of the hole up to around 7,000’ with the tubing to pull out the last safety check around 1:30 am. The tubing separated above the safety check valve, the crew attempted to install another safety check valve at the surface and made several attempts to kill the pressure in the well with water, but the pressure on well. It was determined that the location was unsafe and the crew were no longer in control of the well around 8am this morning. The drilling crew then evacuated the location.
Action taken The well was trying to die down several times prior to and after 8am, however, the crew was unable to kill the pressure. The crew began to call Well Control contractors and other contractors to assist with the control process and begin locating equipment for the process. The crew began to evacuate the closest home and around 9-9:30am called the RRC to inform them of the problem. The crew then began calling other emergency services and the airport. The Well Control Equipment began arriving around 9:30 am until 1:30 pm. A safety meeting was held and the Well Control crew waited for enough fresh water to be brought to the location to be used for cooling off equipment and moisture around the wellhead before operations could begin. They (conractors) begin operations to install a TIW Valve at the top of the tubing around 3pm and finished around 3:39pm. And completed installation and closing of the valve at that time, which ended the event.
Emissions estimation method The estimated quantity of natural gas released for the total event was 250 to 500MCF. The calculations were conservatively based on a 500MCF flow rate over the period of 7hrs, 39 minutes. Using a conservative and representative EagleRidge flash gas analysis from condensate in the same field; a mole percent of each C1 trough C7 compound was utilized to estimate each weight percent of the constituents in the gas. Using the total gas flow rate estimate and individual specie weight percent, an emissions rate of each constituent was determined for the total event. The same methodology was utilized for Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene and Xylene.
Source 1: Fugitives , EPN number FUG
Contaminant Authorization Limit Amount Released
Benzene 106.4 10.0 TONS/YR 59.61 lbs (est.)
Butanes 106.352(l) and 106.4 25.0 TONS/YR 11047.0 lbs (est.)
Pentanes 106.352(l) and 106.4 25.0 TONS/YR 6277.0 lbs (est.)
Propane 106.352(l) and 106.4 25.0 TONS/YR 12556.0 lbs (est.)
Why is this considered Frac material?
We have been told they were doing some kind of completion or stimulation process. We would like to know exactly what was happening but the city seems to be keeping it all a big secret.
Still the city is not telling us what is going on. We have been accused of inventing a conspiracy or inventing”lies” about what happened. Yes, that is what I live for because I don’t have a life.
If Eagle Ridge lost control of the well at 7000 ft when a safety valve failed does this mean the aquifer could have been contaminated?
Eagle Ridge abandoned ship in the wee hours of the morning and they left women and children onboard.
What was Eagle Ridge doing out there? It’s a simple question.
Wonder if anyone (gas company, TCEQ or the city) is going to bother to pressure wash or somehow clean the voc’s off the play ground equipment or picnic tables that are directly across the street. “Go play Baby, while Mommy gets the picnic ready.” Nice….:(
Are you serious? Where exactly is this playground equipment?
TCEQ has changed it’s reporting of the event and anytime you link it you get a clean glossy version of what happened at Eagle Ridge but ,oh shit, I copied and pasted their original report. Remember, the one which reports 59 pounds of Benzene was released into the air. The clean version must be the one the city of Denton is waiting on before they respond to their citizens questions. I smell cover up or is it bullshit?
Denton Texas needs to start a citizen ban hydraulic fracturing in the city limits until it can be performed and reported on safely.