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Two killed in Pennsylvania gaswell blowout
(7/23/2010 - OGI: Washington) Two field workers were killed this morning when a Huntley & Huntley gaswell exploded and burst into flames in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's southwest regional office said today that the shallow well was not being drilled when the explosion occurred but was undergoing maintenance. It caught fire in a wooded area of Indiana Township after an explosion was touched off by workers who were welding equipment at the wellsite. Pipelines connected to the well to collect the gas and other fluids have been shut off to isolate the well.
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The Huntley & Huntley gaswell. |
"DEP staff is on site working with first responders and Huntley & Huntley to determine the safest way to shut the well in," said George Jugovic Jr., DEP's southwest regional director. "The first step to ensuring the safety of the public and first responders on scene is to put the fire out and shut the well in."
Jugovic said that once the well fire has been extinguished and the well secured and safe, an investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the explosion and why the workers were welding at the site.
Huntley & Huntley has more than 350 gaswells in the area. This well, the Murray Heirs-6, was completed in May 2008 at a depth of 3,500 ft. It is a conventional gas well, not a shale gas well.
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