Natural gas well erupts

[lewisipso]

By ADVOCATE STAFF REPORT
Advocate staff writer
Published: Nov 16, 2007
UPDATE 11:45 A.M. State Police still expect Interstate 10 to be closed in both directions between Baton Rouge and Lafayette until at least Sunday night because of a fire at a natural gas well that erupted Thursday evening.
Interstate 10 traffic heading west is being rerouted onto La. 415 northward near Port Allen and onto U.S. 190. At Opelousas, that westbound traffic is sent southward on Interstate 49 and back onto I-10 west at Lafayette.
State Police are rerouting eastbound I-10 traffic northward onto Interstate 49 at Lafayette, then east on U.S. 190 at Opelousas.
The burning well is just off I-10 in Iberville Parish, two miles west of the Ramah exit. Representatives from Cudd Well Control of Houston are going to work to cap the well, said Trooper Johnnie Brown, a State Police spokesman.
Based on the images he’s seen on television, Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, said it’s likely that Cudd Well Control will use one of two methods.
“That’s a blowout,” he said. “The pressure from below was greater than the pressure they were pushing downward.”
One approach is to put out the fire, then see if equipment is intact enough to allow workers to shut off valves and bring the well under control, Briggs said.
But it’s more likely that the intense heat of the fire has “disintegrated” the onsite equipment, he said.
If that’s the case, Cudd Well Control could put another drilling rig next to the damaged one, he said.
“They’ll drill down and drill over to where that other hole is,” Briggs said.
Then the company would probably use that line to pump in enough fluid to weigh down the material coming up through the well, he said. That would cap the well, letting the company bring in the equipment needed to close the hole caused by the blowout, he said.
Bridge inspectors from the state Department of Transportation and Development checked the condition of the roadway over the basin earlier today, said DOTD spokesman Brendan Rush.
“The bridge was structurally sound and was undamaged,” Rush said.
The natural gas well is 400 to 500 feet from the bridge, he said. Rush said state inspectors will continue to monitor road conditions.
State Police learned of the rupture about 5 p.m. Thursday, and several motorists reported a significant haze and a strong smell while traveling on the Whiskey Bay Bridge, a State Police news release says.
The gas leak happened as workers from Bridas Energy were drilling to establish a new well. In doing so, pressure built and essentially blew the line, State Police said. About an hour after the rupture, the natural gas leak ignited.
No injuries were reported.


The interstate is expected to be closed well into December. Several agencies, including ours, are posted at the entrances and exits in our respective jurisdictions to block the interstate. The explosion was stated to be huge and from the picture it seems it wiped out a lot of the site. As you can see it is right next to the elevated portion of the interstate in our Parish.
We are rolling in overtime.

[conalabu]

Damn that is going to suck for traffic.

[Ducky]

Holy hell, some of those vehicles are melted to the spot!

[cajunguy]

And would y'all believe NO fatalities and NO injuries.

Unbelievable.

(I would imagine a few stained skivvies though.)

.

[countybear]

I deeply loved being the first unit on this scene, let me tell you. The Crown Vic operates pretty good in reverse gear.

Although it was a clusterf@@k getting the crews evacuated, the hunters located and bugged out, and the I-10 initially shut down, I am thankful that everyone kept their head and did what they were told without question. That accounts for there being -0- loss of life.

No, my skivvies stayed clean, because there simply wasn't enough time to soil them. The explosion was one of the most spectacular sights I have seen. Pucker factor 10.

Lewis will tell you that this is all my fault, but I didn't light a cigarette until I was greater than one mile away.

[Code6]

Damn that is going to suck for traffic.

You bet it sucks for traffic. In the past three days I have had to make two trips to Baton Rouge from Lafayette, via hwy 190. THAT SUCKED!!!!!! The only benefit I got out of all the traffic, was stopping at Billy's in Krotz Springs and getting some Boudin. I was going west bound on Sunday and it took me 3 hours to go 45 miles. I went east bound yesterday at around 1:30 in the afternoon. No problem, except for nearly having a head on with a couple of sheriff's deputies going west bound on the east bound shoulder. I drove 190 west bound last night at about 8:00pm no problems as far as traffic was concerned. But, I tell you what, if there is a crash anywhere on the highway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge it screws up the traffic something fierce.

[cajunguy]

But, I tell you what, if there is a crash anywhere on the highway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge it screws up the traffic something fierce.

Hell, C-6, that happens on the Interstate when it's open.

BTW, how was that Krotz Springs boudin? I picked some up in Lafayette last Saturday and that was my lunch.

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[Code6]

Hell, C-6, that happens on the Interstate when it's open.

BTW, how was that Krotz Springs boudin? I picked some up in Lafayette last Saturday and that was my lunch.

.

CG, you know how I-10 is wide enough that you can somewhat avoid accidents and a third lane can be created by using the shoulder. Well, on 190, There is NO shoulder except for in a few select places.

The Boudin was real good.

I thought I saw a couple of Iberville Parish Deputies hanging around Lavonia yesterday along with the two dozen troopers.

[countybear]

I thought I saw a couple of Iberville Parish Deputies hanging around Lavonia yesterday along with the two dozen troopers.

The Iberville Deputies were conducting an instructional session.

[Code6]

CB, wher u guys teaching the troopers how to drive against the flow of traffic?

[Pudge]

AMAZING that no one was hurt or killed.

CB, were you lucky enough to get that explosion on dash cam?

[countybear]

AMAZING that no one was hurt or killed.

CB, were you lucky enough to get that explosion on dash cam?

What's a dash cam?

[Pudge]

What's a dash cam?

Damn, I'll take that as no then.