12/16/24 - 110 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/3ubmzu7a
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Chesapeake Energy Resumes Fracking Operations
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Chesapeake Energy late Friday announced it has resumed fracking operations on its 105 Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania after an investigation by the company and the Department of Environmental Protection showed the impact to nearby waterways was minimal. The report was carried on Upstream Online.com and WITF TV/Radio website. There was no announcement from DEP about the resumption of fracking or on its investigation of the blowout.
“We have engaged in a rigorous investigation of the cause of the incident, a thorough examination of our existing operations, and a comprehensive environmental evaluation of the area surrounding the location,” said John Reinhart, Chesapeake’s vice-president of operations for its Eastern Division.
On April 19, Chesapeake lost control of a well it was fracking in the Marcellus Shale play in Bradford County. Flowback from the well spilled into a small pond and a stream in the immediate vicinity.
The spill sparked concerns of wider contamination and prompted Chesapeake to suspend all fracking operations in its Eastern Division, an area that includes all of its Marcellus holdings, as it inspected the wellheads at its other operations.
Chesapeake blamed the spill on a faulty valve flange connection to the wellhead.
“An equipment failure of this type is extremely rare in the industry and is the first valve flange failure of this magnitude in more than 15,000 wells Chesapeake has completed,” the company said in a release.
Chesapeake said it disassembled and pressure tested all “comparable” wells in the Marcellus area before it decided to resume fracking operations today.
“We are confident that this was an isolated incident and that all wellhead equipment and connections are fully functional and structurally sound,” the company said.
As a result of the incident, Chesapeake said it will subject contractors to more thorough reviews and has instituted an independent auditing system “to serve as an extra layer of oversight in wellhead assembly."
NewsClips: Chesapeake Resumes Marcellus Fracking
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5/16/2011 |
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