Here's a further update from the Dec. 3rd Bakersfield Californian.
Crew slowly regaining control of Lost Hills well
December 3, 1998
By BOB CHRISTIE
Californian staff writer
e-mail: bchristie@bakersfield.com
Crews battling the huge natural gas well fire near Lost Hills on Thursday took the first steps toward diverting the flames away from the well's mouth.
The five-man crew from Boots & Coots International Well Control of Houston positioned a long pipe over the raging flames, moving the point of combustion about 25 feet above the ground, said Larry Flak, engineering vice president for the company.
As expected, the pipe needed some adjustments and was removed after the first test installation. The tube will be reinstalled today after being modified, and crews may be able to make their first venture to inspect the well head within a couple of days.
"Every day we're going to make a little bit of progress," Flak said. "Each day it's incrementally better than the day before."
The first two out of 70 tractor-trailer loads carrying a Nabors Drilling USA rig from Texas arrived Thursday at the scene about 45 miles northwest of Bakersfield, Flak said.
The Nabors rig that was drilling the deep wildcat well was destroyed when the crew lost control of the well and it blew out and exploded on Nov. 23. No one was injured.
The second rig is being brought in to drill a relief well, although it is too soon to tell if that will be necessary to quench the blaze and stop the flow of gas.
"This is not our preferred option," Flak said of the relief well. However, because it will be necessary to drill thousands of feet and set casing before the second well can be sidetracked over to the existing well, it is wise to start drilling immediately.
By far the most preferable route is to install a new blowout preventer and diverter valve assembly that will send the flaming gas sideways into two pits now being dug, Flak said.
Tools can then be threaded into the well to preform needed control work. But whether that is feasible remains to be seen.
"We're a few more days from determining that we can or cannot use surface intervention," Flak said.
The well was being drilled by Bellevue Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Elk Point Resources Inc. of Calgary, Canada. Eleven other U.S. and Canadian firms own a share of the well; the mineral rights for the property are leased from Chevron USA, which will retain a 25 percent royalty interest from any production.
Things are looking very good.
The flare is still burning at it's peak rate after 12 days, further supporting the idea that we have a very large gas reservoir.
Efforts to rescue this well are going better than expected.
A second rig is being positioned to drill near Bellvue #1. If a relief well is not required, the second well can be deviated in the opposite direction, giving us two gas wells. Since this well is currently producing upwards of 100 MMcf/day with zero depletion, the reservoir should easily be able to support two proximal gas wells flowing at 10 MMcf/day each.
It looks like "win, win" so far. |
