Accidents 12 - Marcellus Drilling News

Caught on Video: Frack Sand Train Goes Off Rails Near Scranton

April 10, 2019April 10, 2019

Derailed train in Dickson City – click for larger version

Around noon yesterday, a train moving slowly, at 10 miles per hour, was hauling lumber and frack sand from Scranton to nearby Carbondale, when a video surveillance camera caught the train leaving the rails. Ten cars derailed, with three tipping over completely (spilling sand) and one teetering on the brink. The video, taken from a police station across the street, is amazing.
Read More “Caught on Video: Frack Sand Train Goes Off Rails Near Scranton”

Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Pipelines | Statewide MI

What Caused the MI NatGas Compressor Stn Fire in January?

April 10, 2019April 10, 2019

You may recall MDN covering the story of the compressor station in Michigan that caught fire and exploded in January (see Michigan NatGas Compressor Station Catches Fire, Explodes). That single compressor (single point of failure, as it turns out) is responsible for pumping natgas to two-thirds of Michigan residents. After a two-month investigation, the station’s owner says it knows what happened, which can be summed up as a series of unfortunate events.
Read More “What Caused the MI NatGas Compressor Stn Fire in January?”

Sunoco, DEP Settle on $200K Fine for ME1 Pipe Leak in 2017

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019

The Mariner East 1 pipeline sprung a small leak and spilled 20 barrels (~840 gallons) of ethane and propane in Berks County, near Philadelphia, on April 1, 2017 (see Mariner East 1 Sprang a Small NGL Leak Near Philly, on Apr 1). Sunoco Logistics Partners (i.e. Energy Transfer), builder and maintainer of the pipeline, shut it down and fixed it over the next several days. It took the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), which oversees regulation of the pipeline, a year and a half to investigate.
Read More “Sunoco, DEP Settle on $200K Fine for ME1 Pipe Leak in 2017”

Exploded Tetco Pipe in Ohio Back Online – 10 Weeks Later

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019

A 30-inch segment of Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission Company (Tetco) interstate natural gas pipeline exploded in January, sending two people to the hospital and destroying two nearby homes when fires from the blast spread (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes in Noble County, OH – Injuries). The pipeline is now, after 10 weeks, fully back online and flowing at 100% capacity. We have an update on how the outage affected flows in the region, and the likely cause for the explosion.
Read More “Exploded Tetco Pipe in Ohio Back Online – 10 Weeks Later”

Man Killed in Accident at Hilcorp Well Pad in Lawrence County, PA

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019

An Indiana County, PA man was working at a Hilcorp drill pad in North Beaver Township (Lawrence County), PA, helping to load “large sections of steel pipeline and drilling equipment” onto a truck when the load became unstable and a large pipe fell from the truck and struck/killed the man. Leonard Clair Long, Jr., 60 years old, died at the scene. He worked for Hilcorp subcontractor Ziegenfuss Drilling.
Read More “Man Killed in Accident at Hilcorp Well Pad in Lawrence County, PA”

Accidents | CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | New York | Schoharie County

CNG Trailer Rolls Over in Upstate NY, Closes Interstate

March 4, 2019March 8, 2019

Credit: Fulton County Area News (click for larger version)

A tractor trailer hauling CNG (compressed natural gas) overturned Sunday morning on Interstate 88 near Cobleskill in Schoharie County, closing the Interstate for a few hours. This is one of those “virtual pipelines” we’ve written plenty about (see our stories here).

3/8/19 UPDATE: The driver fell asleep at the wheel causing the crash. See below.
Read More “CNG Trailer Rolls Over in Upstate NY, Closes Interstate”

CNX Faulty Utica Well in SWPA Will Cost Company $30M+

February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

CNX was fracking their Shaw 1G Utica well in Washington Township (Westmoreland County) on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they detected “a strong drop in pressure” and stopped fracking (see CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir). Turns out the well was “communicating” (i.e. losing gas to) several nearby conventional wells.
Read More “CNX Faulty Utica Well in SWPA Will Cost Company $30M+”

CNX Says Well Casing Issue, Not Fracking, Caused Rogue Utica Well

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019

CNX Resources say they think they know why a Utica well they were fracking in Westmoreland County, PA suddenly lost pressure as they were fracking it–with gas escaping into nearby conventional wells.
Read More “CNX Says Well Casing Issue, Not Fracking, Caused Rogue Utica Well”

ODNR Shakes Down XTO Energy $425K for First Responders

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) is doing a happy dance that they’ve shaken down XTO Energy $425,000 to settle a violation by XTO for drilling a shale well in Belmont County a year ago that exploded and caught fire.
Read More “ODNR Shakes Down XTO Energy $425K for First Responders”

CNX Rogue Utica Well in SWPA Affects 9 Vertical Wells, Maybe More

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019

CNX was fracking their Shaw 1G Utica well in Washington Township on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they detected “a strong drop in pressure” and stopped fracking (see CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir). Turns out the well was “communicating” (i.e. losing gas to) several nearby conventional wells.
Read More “CNX Rogue Utica Well in SWPA Affects 9 Vertical Wells, Maybe More”

CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019

When people communicate, that’s a good thing. When a shale well “communicates” with nearby conventional wells, that’s a bad thing. And that’s what happened with a CNX Resources Utica well being fracked in Westmoreland County last week.
Read More “CNX Hits Major Problem Fracking Utica Well Near SWPA Reservoir”

Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Pipelines | Statewide MI

MI NatGas Compressor Stn Fire Leads to GM, Ford Plant Closures

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019

Last week a pipeline at a single Michigan compressor station caught fire and exploded (see Michigan NatGas Compressor Station Catches Fire, Explodes). That single compressor (single point of failure, as it turns out) is responsible for pumping natgas to two-thirds of Michigan residents, including all those big automobile assembly plants Michigan is famous for.
Read More “MI NatGas Compressor Stn Fire Leads to GM, Ford Plant Closures”

Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Pipelines | Statewide MI

Michigan NatGas Compressor Station Catches Fire, Explodes

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019

Credit: Detroit News (click for larger version)

A pipeline compressor station for Consumers Energy (Michigan utility company) experienced an explosion and fire yesterday morning. The facility is located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Macomb County.
Read More “Michigan NatGas Compressor Station Catches Fire, Explodes”

Enbridge Trying to Restore 1 Bcf/d on Exploded Tetco in Ohio

January 28, 2019January 28, 2019

A 30-inch segment of Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission Company (Tetco) interstate natural gas pipeline exploded one week ago today, sending two people to the hospital and destroying two nearby homes when fires from the blast spread (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes in Noble County, OH – Injuries). Enbridge is hoping to restore partial service along the line early this week.
Read More “Enbridge Trying to Restore 1 Bcf/d on Exploded Tetco in Ohio”

Texas Eastern Pipe in Ohio Down Indefinitely Following Blast

January 24, 2019January 24, 2019

Some 2.31 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica Shale natural gas had been flowing through the Berne Compressor Station in Noble County, OH. Some (most?) of that gas goes to the Gulf Coast. That is, did go to the Gulf Coast–until the Texas Eastern Pipeline (Tetco) exploded earlier this week. That 2.31 Bcf/d coming from Berne has dropped to 0 Bcf/d for the indefinite future.
Read More “Texas Eastern Pipe in Ohio Down Indefinitely Following Blast”

Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes in Noble County, OH – Injuries

January 22, 2019January 23, 2019

Fires from Texas Eastern Pipeline explosion (click for larger version, credit: WTRF Channel 7)

A 30-inch segment of Enbridge’s Texas Eastern interstate natural gas pipeline in Noble County, OH exploded yesterday sending two people to the hospital and destroying two nearby homes. The pipeline was built in the early 1950s and was last inspected in 2012.

NOTE: We’ve added a 1/23/19 update below on how this accident has affected gas flows in Ohio.
Read More “Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes in Noble County, OH – Injuries”