Pa. levies $400K fine in Marcellus well accident

[Robbien]

Source: Philly News

HARRISBURG - Untrained employees of a natural-gas drilling company failed to provide sufficient controls on a Marcellus Shale well that blew out last month, and Pennsylvania environmental officials today fined the operators $400,000.

John Hanger, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said EOG Resources Inc. and a contractor, C.C. Forbes L.L.C., had failed to follow the best industry practices at the well in Clearfield County, which erupted June 3 and spewed natural gas and toxic wastewater for 16 hours before it could be capped.

. . .

He said that EOG had failed to properly test the blowout preventer before its use, and that no workers on site at the time of the blowout had a well-control certificate.

George said he was most troubled by EOG's "apparent disregard" of best industry practices. "No human endeavor is going to be mistake-free," he said, "but the report suggests disregard for basic safeguards, which should trouble everyone."

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20100713_Pa__levies__400K_fine_in_Marcellus_well_accident.html

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Replacing experienced workers with minimum wage day laborers is good for profits. So what's a little spill now and then.

[EJSTES2005]

1. $400K.....

Seems like just another cost of doing business as usual when you factor in the cost of an average well is about $3-4M.........

[centerdem]

2. close to home?

My camp that has been in my family for 45 years is less than 2 miles away from this spill. You should see how much forest is destroyed the spill is a drop in the lake compared to the new roads and fields that were made to accommodate these fuckers. I don't worry about the water table, that was destroyed by strip mining decades ago.

[Paladin]

3. EOG, f/k/a Enron Oil & Gas. Really. (n/t)