LANCO 6H & 7H Explosion & Fire
Greene County near Bobtown, Pennsylvania
Ten years ago today
Around dawn on Tuesday morning February 11, 2014, there was an explosion and fire at Chevron Appalachia’s Lanco well pad in Dunkard Township, Greene County, located in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, near the border with West Virginia. (News video)
Evacuation
A half-mile radius (2,640 feet or about 0.8 kilometers) safety perimeter was set-up around the burning well site.
Onsite workers
Eighteen workers escaped without injury, while one worker suffered minor injuries. Another worker, Ian McKee, 27, of Morgantown WV, an employee of Cameron International of Houston, Texas, died during the event.
Evacuation zone reduced
The safety buffer was reduced to 300-feet (91 meters) several days after the explosion.
Two weeks later
Wild Well Control gained control of the wells two weeks later, on February 25, 2014.
After the explosion
Two weeks after the explosion it was still not clear what caused this serious incident. Some theorized it may have been caused by ‘hot tapping’ while others pointed to an unpermitted gas pipeline installed on the pad which drew a Pennsylvania DEP violation in mid-December 2013.
Wells drilled in 2012
The three wells on the Lanco pad were drilled in early-2012.
Bobtown
Evacuating the nearby town of Bobtown was considered but never acted upon. One resident’s daughter remarked the week of the explosion that the “air wasn’t right.”
Five days later
Five days later, the flames had extinguished on their own, while large clouds of gaseous fumes were still billowing off the well pad into the surrounding countryside.
Coal mine closed
Reports indicate a nearby coal mine was closed following the well pad explosion.
Images around Bobtown, Pa.
Pennsylvania DEP Permitting
Site ID: 747814
Site Name: LANCO #6H, #7H, #8H ESCGP-EXPEDITED
Pa. DEP Violation Report
Violation ID: 685463
Date: 12/9/2013
Violation description: Failure to comply with terms and conditions of permit
Violation Type: Environmental Health & Safety
PA Code Legal Citation: 25 Pa. Code 78.12
§ 78.12. Compliance with permit.
A person may not drill, alter or operate an oil or gas well except in accordance with a permit or registration issued under the act and in compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit, this chapter and the statutes under which it was promulgated. A copy of the permit shall be kept at the well site during drilling or alteration of a well.
Authorization ID: 1010068
Site: LANCO 6-8H WELL SERVICE CONNECT ESCGP-2 EXPEDITED
Authorization Type: Expedited E&S Stormwater General Permit 1
Date Received: 1/15/2014
Completeness Review:
Completion Date: 2/5/2014
Technical Review:
Start Date: 2/5/2014
Target Date: 2/26/2014
INSPECTION COMMENT:
On 12/9/2013, I performed an inspection of Chevron Lanco 6H-8H well pad site. The site is located in Dunkard Twp., Greene County. The inspection was performed as a routine inspection.
The New Act 9 Site ID sign was in place and legible.
Operator has submited a major modification to the ESCGP 1 permit, and I hard a copy of the modification submital on site.
The well pad, and access road were in good condition and all E&S controls were completed and adequate. The constructed access road was outside the original LOD in two locations and the operator had constructed a production pipeline across the well pad and access road, without approval with a major modification to the permit.
INSPECTION ID: 2230530
INSPECTION CLIENT NAME: CHEVRON APPALACHIA LLC
INSPECTION DATE: 12/09/2013
INSPECTION TYPE: Routine/Complete Inspection
UNCONVENTIONAL: No
INSPECTION CATEGORY: Site
REGION: EP DOGO SWDO Dstr Off
INSPECTION RESULT DESCRIPTION: Violation(s) Noted
VIOLATION ID: 685463
VIOLATION DATE: 12/09/2013
VIOLATION CODE & DESCRIPTION: 201E – Failure to comply with terms and conditions of permit
VIOLATION TYPE: Environmental Health & Safety
VIOLATION COMMENT: Viol. Type – was entered as 201 E, on inspection report I cited 102.5 (4).
RELATED ENFORCEMENTS: 305935
ENFORCEMENT ID: 305935
ENFORCEMENT CODE & DESCRIPTION: NOV – Notice of Violation
EXECUTED ENFORCEMENT DATE: 12/19/2013
RELATED VIOLATIONS: 685463
Chevron Well Fire – Greene County
PA DEP – Radiological Sampling
Feb. 13 – Feb. 14, 2014
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Air Quality
Ambient Air Monitoring Investigation Report
Chevron Appalachia Lanco 7H Well Pad Fire Monitoring
February 12 – 20, 2014
Summary of Bureau of Investigations
Information Gathering Efforts
Chevron Lanco Pad A Gas Well Fire
Free Pizza (..and maybe Crazy Bread?)
February 16, 2014 – Five days after the gas well explosion, in an effort to appease local residents inconvenienced by the evacuation, Chevron Appalachia Community Outreach provided letters to neighbors with a Gift Certificate for a free large Pizza ‘Special Combo Only’ and 2-liter drink.
Stepen Colbert ‘Tip of the Hat’
Last night comedian Stephen Colbert gave a Tip of the Hat to the “good guys” at Chevron who offered Pennsylvania residents coupons for a free large pizza and soda after a gas well exploded. Saying “it’s the least they could do. Literally, I think it’s the least they could possibly do,” Colbert speculates what other apologies might be up Chevrons sleeve. “Free pizza! Of course, that’s for a gas well fire. If the chemicals in your drinking water cause neurological damage, you get crazy bread.”
Chevron Apologizes for Gas Explosion with Free Pizza
The owner of local pizzeria Bobtown Pizza says he sold 100 certificates to Chevron, which were distributed to homes located near the gas well. The certificates entitle residents to one “special combo” pizza and a two liter soda. Chevron confirmed to Raging Chicken Press that they did indeed send the letters.
Chevron Pizza ‘Scandal’ Leaves Small Town Divided
More than 12,000 people from the Netherlands to San Francisco have signed a petition demanding that Chevron apologize for insulting Bobtown, Pa., after the energy giant responded to an explosion of one of its natural gas wells by giving nearby residents coupons for free pizza. In this part of Pennsylvania, the relationship between companies and communities is complicated. Decades before natural gas drilling, coal was king. In the early 1900s, Bobtown became a thriving coal patch on the border of West Virginia. The company owned most of the land in town and built houses for the workers and their families. The biggest mine in town closed in 1993.
The Energy Age 