Published: December 15, 2005 11:41 pm         

Drilling company works to stop eruption of natural gas in area

Work continued into the night Thursday to plug the apparent source of natural gas that has bubbled to the surface along a Kingfisher County creek for the past week.

Although the source is unknown, a preliminary investigation revealed a natural gas well being drilled by Chesapeake Energy Corp. miles away may be to blame for the strange geysers of explosive vapors.

Chesapeake officials said late Thursday preparations were nearly complete to begin relieving pressure at the well site, located 12 miles west of Okarche. The drilling rig was moved away from the well, and surface equipment was installed to relieve pressure.

A company statement said pressure release was expected to begin sometime late Thursday or early today through a combination of production to a pipeline and periodic flaring of the gas.

Chesapeake hired Boots and Coots International Well Control Inc. of Houston, a global emergency response company, to help perform the work.

“We have every reason to believe that this should work,” said Matt Skinner, spokesman for Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and gas activities in the state.

But Skinner said even if the operation is successful, geysers may continue to appear in the area for some time.

“It’s going to be several days we think before we see any positive benefit,” Skinner said. “It depends on how charged the zone is with gas.”

Gas has been shooting to the surface along a five-mile section of Winter Camp Creek since Dec. 9, and some geysers are within about a mile of the town of Kingfisher.

The Chesapeake rig experienced an unusually large flow of gas last week, and OCC and emergency management officials are investigating whether gas from the well moved to the creek area.

Chesapeake said it has provided aerial surveillance of the area at the request of OCC and Kingfisher County officials.

In addition, testing of the air and water around 14 residences in the region has been conducted to determine whether gas is present. Chesapeake said no gas was detected in the air, but water samples still are being tested.

Skinner said testing is taking more time than originally ex-pected because some structures are on American Indian land, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs must first give its approval.

Kingfisher Fire Chief Jack Crawford said geysers have not been moving toward the city of Kingfisher but have been moving south along a feeder creek toward Okarche.

“Since yesterday (Wednes-day) it has migrated a little bit south about half a mile,” he said.

Crawford said there have been three or four more areas where gas has surfaced, this time in areas not associated with Win-ter Camp Creek. The gas pushed earth up in a wheat field two and a half miles west of Kingfisher.

“The height is about 2 to 3 feet, and they are about 2 to 4 feet wide,” Crawford said. “Some are about 20 to 30 feet long. We’ve also seen some along the drought cracks in the wheat field.”

The geysers were first discovered by hunters who reported them to a local game warden, who then informed the Corporation Commission.

Officials have said the threat of the gas igniting is unlikely, and ignition would only be possible if there was direct contact with an constant open flame.

The geysers are expelling a gas mixture, about 93 percent methane, about 3.6 percent ethane, 1 percent propane and other mixed gases. The scent of the gas resembles modeling glue or rubber cement.

The geysers are spewing cold water and mud up to 15 feet from their point of origin in some areas. Two county roads, one in Kingfisher County and one in Canadian County, have been closed because of the geysers.

The geysers are as far away as 12 miles from each other and as close as a quarter mile, officials have said.



Staff writer Cass Rains and The Associated Press contributed to this story.