Accidents

We’ve been monitoring the tragic well fire in Greene County, PA that claimed the life of one contract worker. On Sunday afternoon Chevron reports the original well to explode and catch fire, the Lanco 7H, was capped (see Greene County Chevron Well Fire: 7H Well Capped, 6H in Few Days). Chevron now reports the second well to catch fire from the first, the Lanco 6H, is also capped as of yesterday afternoon (see the announcement below). What we somehow missed in the coverage was the fallout from the fire. Last week the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection asked Chevron to suspend drilling operations at other wells in the area pending a review. Chevron responded they had already stopped drilling operations at 7 nearby wells.

Here’s the latest official announcement from Chevron (that does not mention shutting down operations on other wells), along with a story from last week about the DEP’s tete-a-tete with Chevron:
Read More “Chevron Well Fire Update: 2nd Well Capped, Work on 7 Wells Stopped”

Chevron reports that as of yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, Wild Well Control has successfully capped one of two leaking gas wells in Dunkard Township, Greene County, PA. The well capped was the Lanco 7H. However, work to cap the second well at the pad, the 6H, is up next and expected to take “several days” to complete. These are the wells that caught fire after an explosion occurred as workers were completing a hook-up of the 7H (see Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing). Unfortunately the explosion and fire took the life of one contract worker (see Remains of Chevron Contractor Found at Greene County Well Site).

The latest couple of updates from Chevron about the accident, the fire and capping of the wells:
Read More “Greene County Chevron Well Fire: 7H Well Capped, 6H in Few Days”

Unfortunately our worst fears were realized when PA State Police announced yesterday they had removed “what appear to be” the remains of Ian McKee, 27, a Cameron International contractor working at the Chevron Marcellus well site in Greene County. A warning folks, this is a bit gruesome. Apparently they found some bones but no body. It is a heart-rending story. No matter who it would have been, it’s a tragedy. In the case of Ian, he was young, living with his fiance with a baby on the way. Please say a prayer for his family and friends–they will need it in the coming days as they deal with this.

To their credit Chevron released a statement about finding Ian (see below). Oddly, the company Ian worked for that was doing contract work for Chevron–Cameron International–has not posted any public statements on their website… from the beginning. Below Chevron’s statement is a news account of the “somber” news conference held yesterday where Chevron announced finding Ian’s remains…
Read More “Remains of Chevron Contractor Found at Greene County Well Site”

In the midst of a public relations emergency (nightmare), snap decisions are made quickly. Frankly, it’s tough to be critical about the decisions made under such pressure. It’s tough to imagine what someone goes through until you “walk in their shoes.” We’re mindful of that and this is not an attempt at “piling on.” But we can’t ignore the story of how Chevron has addressed the current Greene County, PA well fire crisis. A worker from a contracting company–Cameron International–lost his life in the explosion and fire that raged for nearly five days before it burned out. As we’ve noted several times, to their credit, Chevron was open and transparent, posting frequent updates on their website (see Chevron’s Updates here).

During the crisis emergency equipment, personnel and around-the-clock activity in the area greatly disrupted the lives of those living nearby. Someone at Chevron decided it would be a good idea to show the company’s appreciation to those neighbors whose lives were turned upside down. So Chevron reps went door to door at about 30 nearby homes and handed out…a coupon for a free pizza and 2 liter soda–value $12. Thunk. While we appreciate they wanted to do something, this was decidedly not the best decision that could of been made by Chevron during this entire crisis, as noted by the Washington Observer-Reporter:
Read More “Chevron: Sorry Turning Your Life Upside Down–Here’s a Free Pizza”

MDN previously told you about an explosion and well fire at a Chevron drilling site in Greene County, PA last Tuesday (see Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing). We then brought you Chevron’s series of updates on progress (or lack thereof) in extinguishing the fire and locating a missing worker (see Update: Chevron Well Fire in Greene County Still Burning). On Saturday, a second well at the pad caught fire and started to burn–something Chevron feared may happen. However, as of 3 pm on Saturday, both well fires were out, although Chevron isn’t quite sure why (theory: lack of gas to fuel them). The very careful work of removing a badly burned crane now begins so Chevron can start “well intervention work.”

There is still, so far, no sign of the missing worker, who is presumed dead. Chevron has issued a steady flow of updates on their website. Below are the most recent three updates issued (since the first four we brought you), which gives a timeline for what’s happened at the site since the explosion…
Read More “Chevron Well Fire Update: Fire Spreads to 2nd Well, Both Fires Out”