APNewsBreak: Pa. gas well blowout report cites mistakes, problems with equipment testing
By Marc Levy, APTuesday, July 13, 2010
AP: Pa. blowout report cites mistakes, training
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A consultant says rig workers’ failure to use enough pressure-control devices led to a natural gas well blowout in central Pennsylvania last month.
Consultant John Vittitow’s report being released Tuesday also criticizes the drilling crew’s lack of training and testing of equipment.
Vittitow was to appear with state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger to discuss his report.
Hanger hired Vittitow to investigate the June 3-4 blowout, which blasted explosive gas and toxic wastewater into the air for 16 hours before control was restored.
No one was injured and the gas did not ignite.
It happened during finishing work on a Marcellus Shale well owned by Houston-based EOG Resources Inc. in rural Clearfield County.
