Karnes County Explosion Proves Costly

Chesapeake Released 2015 Q1
Encan Corp Q1

Almost one month after a fiery oil rig explosion in Karnes county, Encana Corp released final figures to state regulators.

Encana Corp. reported that the accident released over 760,000 pounds of crude oil and possibly tens of thousands of pounds of gas and into the air. The company estimates that the crude was worth more than $197,000.

The county sheriff called the May 19th accident the ‘worst environmental disaster in more than 20 years’, leaving trees, fields, roads and houses covered in oil and displacing numerous families.

Related: Karnes County Accident Worst in 20 Years

The clean up has been a massive effort and has included subcontractors to control runoff, pump out nearby stock tanks, evaluate livestock, take soil samples, evaluate vegetation, clean homes and repair nearly half a mile of roadway on FM 792.

First quarter results for Encana show improved production and lower costs for its Eagle Ford operations. Highlights include:

  • Drilled its fastest three wells to date and reduced normalized drilling costs by 15%
  • Reduced drilling and completion costs by $1 million per well
  • Promising early results from new wells in an area known as the Graben
  • Base optimization efforts reduced decline rates by 50%
  • 27 net wells were drilled
  • Liquids production averaged 36,000 bbls/d

Read more at encana.com

Karnes County Accident Worst in 20 Years

Karnes County Well Explosion
Karnes County Well Explosion

An accident at an Encana Corp well last month is still wreaking havoc on a small area of Karnes County.

Related: Eagle Ford Well Explodes

In what the county sheriff is calling the worst environmental disaster in more than 20 years, the well blow-out displaced numerous families and left trees, fields, roads and houses covered in oil.

The clean up effort is proving costly and has included resurfacing more than half a mile of roadway of FM 792. Encana is also making a full environmental assessment of the area including bringing in veterinarians, soil testers and arborists.

More than two weeks after the accident, a line still separates green and lush vegetation nurtured by recent rains from brown trees and grass that were soaked by condensate and natural gas. Leaves on the trees and bushes are black and remain coated with a slick oily substance.
— The San Antonio Tribune

Encana spokesman Doug Hock confirmed that there are five households that are still not able to return home and another couple of unoccupied homes that are not yet accessible.

Eagle Ford Well Explodes

NOAA Studies Eagle Ford Emissions
Well Explodes

An Eagle Ford oil well exploded Tuesday afternoon and forced the evacuation of several nearby homes.

Related: Eagle Ford Rig Worker Injured in Explosion Dies

The well, operated by Enaca Corp was located off of FM 792 about four miles east of Karnes City, TX. Karnes County, Sheriff Dwayne Villanueva said the well pump that exploded was shut off but hydrogen sulfide gas still escaped. No one was reported injured.

The latest update on Wednesday at 3pm was that the flow of gas has been slowed and the company was working to shut it down completely.

An Encana spokesman affirmed "that the company is providing accommodation and incidental expenses to evacuated residents until the well is shut down and Encana and the Karnes County Sherriff’s Department determine it's safe for them to return to their homes."

At approximately 3:30 p.m. CST on May 19, 2015 Encana experienced a well control situation at the Dromgoole 8BH well located near the intersection of Highway 792 and Highway 343 approximately 4 miles east of central Karnes City, Texas.

No injuries have been reported from the location. We immediately activated our emergency response plan. As a precaution, neighbors living in the immediate area were evacuated. Local authorities are on location.

We are monitoring for the presence of H2S. Our main priority is to ensure the safety of our staff and community. We will continue to monitor the area.

We are working to shut down well and will provide additional information as it becomes available. The cause is not known at this time.

We will work to determine the exact cause and will conduct a comprehensive review into what occurred.
— Official statement from Encana