Well spews oily mist

Ill be leaving North Dakota on Monday, so this might be one of the final posts I make about the absurdity of life in the North Dakota Oil Patch.

Well spews oily mist near Parshall

PARSHALL — An oil well that began to malfunction Wednesday evening continued to spray a mist of oil into the air late Thursday but is expected to be contained this morning, an official at the scene said.

By: Amy Dalrymple, Forum Communications

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Amy Dalrymple/Forum Communications A mist of oil sprays from an oil well near Parshall on Thursday, after an equipment malfunction occurred. A specialized crew flew from Texas to get control of the well.

PARSHALL — An oil well that began to malfunction Wednesday evening continued to spray a mist of oil into the air late Thursday but is expected to be contained this morning, an official at the scene said.
The mist of oil from the well about nine miles west of Parshall appeared to be contained shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday. Crews used the bucket of a backhoe to cover the mist and keep it from blowing up into the air, said Kris Roberts, environmental geologist with the North Dakota Department of Health.
But the risk of a static spark that could start a fire was too high, so crews removed the equipment about 4 p.m. and the mist continued to spray to the north Thursday evening, Roberts said.
“One spark would have been one way too many,” he said.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, crews were closing down for the day because it was getting too dark, Roberts said.
They will resume working this morning, he said.
The well did not pose any danger to public health and there was no need for evacuations, Roberts said.
Kyle Waliezer, Rockies area superintendent for Slawson Exploration Co., said a crew was working on the well between 6 and 7 p.m. Wednesday when an equipment malfunction occurred. No one was injured, he said.
The malfunction, which is under investigation, caused the workers to lose control of the well, Waliezer said.
A specialized team from Houston flew to North Dakota Wednesday night to get control of the well, but a brownish mist, occasionally surging higher than the top of the service rig, continued to spray into the air. They will continue their work Friday.
Lake Sakakawea, less than one mile to the south of the well, was not in danger of being affected, Roberts said.
The well sprayed oil, gas and water containing brine, Roberts said. The mist drifted more than 2,000 feet to the southwest of the well before the wind shifted, he said. The mist was spraying to the north and Roberts estimates it has affected an area of about 1,500 feet. The amount of oil released is unknown, Roberts said.
Cleanup crews would not begin working until the well was contained, Roberts said.
Slawson hired a firm to monitor gas levels in the area to ensure the safety of nearby residents, Waliezer said.
Workers constructed dikes around the well site to contain the spill and prevent it from getting to a drainage area that could affect the lake. Waliezer said Slawson constructs its well sites so oil can be contained on site in the event of a spill.
“They’ve done an excellent job of trying to make sure they’re safe and contained,” Roberts said.
Prior to the incident, the well had been in production, but a workover rig, or service rig, was brought in to clean out sand and improve production, Waliezer said.
The state Department of Mineral Resources and other agencies also were on the scene investigating.
A safety officer from the Three Affiliated Tribes energy division also was monitoring the well, which lies within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Tags: lake sakakawea, oil, news, energy, parshall, dickinson, spew, rig

oppose drilling in Killdeer Mountains

Published October 23, 2012, 12:00 AM

Proposed wells draw controversy: Rancher, tribal member oppose drilling in Killdeer Mountains

Home to one historic battlefield site already, the Killdeer Mountains are the subject of a new North Dakota fight. This time, however, the battle is not between the U.S. Army and tribes of Native Americans, but rather between the oil industry and the people who live near and use the mountains, which begin about eight miles northwest of Killdeer.

By: Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press

Home to one historic battlefield site already, the Killdeer Mountains are the subject of a new North Dakota fight.
This time, however, the battle is not between the U.S. Army and tribes of Native Americans, but rather between the oil industry and the people who live near and use the mountains, which begin about eight miles northwest of Killdeer.
Much to the chagrin of some Dunn County residents and native tribes that use the land for ceremonial purposes, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Oil and Gas Division, an arm of the Industrial Commission, will host a hearing Wednesday in Bismarck regarding the addition of a number of new oil drilling sites in the county and around the state, several of which would be in the immediate area of the mountains.
“It’s a travesty,” said Loren Jepson, a rancher who lives about 15 miles northwest of Killdeer. “People should be concerned about this. If you care about hunting, searching for native artifacts or birdwatching in the Killdeer Mountains, that’s all in jeopardy.”
Though drilling is not allowed in certain areas in and around the mountains, Jepson said the addition of four — and possibly more — hydraulic fracturing sites in the area could exacerbate issues residents are already facing because of drilling north of Killdeer along ND Highway 22, such as heavy truck traffic, dust and noise.
“It’s a quality of life issue,” Jepson said. “We know that there has been and will continue to be drilling here, I just wish the oil companies would have more respect for the people who have lived here their whole lives. I wish the oil companies would just work with people.”
The proposed new wells — which are just a few of dozens that will come before ND Oil and Gas this week — would be in close proximity to the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site and certain areas that some Native American tribes consider to be sacred, such as Medicine Hole, a cave-like site in the mountains that has been part of Native American lore for decades.
A member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and an instructor of Native American studies at Fort Berthold Community College in New Town, Delvin Driver Sr., said the Killdeer Mountains — especially Medicine Hole — have a lot of spiritual significance for his people.
“This is an area where people from different tribes, from all over, come to fast and make contact with different spirits,” Driver said. “This is sacred land. The native people are spiritual people and the land is who we are. If there is a lot of interference for the people who go in those mountains, it’s not going to be a good spiritual experience for them.”
Driver added he understands that drilling is a fact of life in North Dakota.
“The oil industry is here and it will continue to be here,” Driver said. “But they don’t really see our views — they see money. They’ll step on anybody’s foot to get more.”
The historic battlefield site in the Killdeer Mountains commemorates an 1864 skirmish between the Army and a gathering of Yanktonai, Dakota and Teton Indians. As legend has it, Medicine Hole is a narrow passageway leading off the mountaintop through its base used by natives to escape U.S. soldiers during the conflict more than a century ago.
Jepson said he has retained the Dickinson law firm Mackoff Kellogg to fight the location of the proposed wells and will be in attendance at the hearing on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what to expect,” Jepson said. “I know a lot of others in the community feel the same way I do, but it seems that nobody will do anything about it. I’m trying to do something about it.”
Hess Corp. is listed as the proprietor of the wells on ND Oil and Gas documents. Representatives from Hess could not be reached for comment Monday.

Tags: killdeer mountains, native americans, new town, oil, news, dickinson, local, killdeer, energy, ranch, mountain, fight, battlefield, history, historic

Wast Water Near Housing Development

I realize I have not been doing many personal posts over the last few weeks, I guess my life has become fairly unexciting but the fracking news just keeps coming ...

ND approves frack water disposal well near Killdeer

The North Dakota Industrial Commission on Monday approved the creation of a saltwater disposal well outside of Killdeer that some think is too close to a future subdivision.

By: By Bryan Horwath, The Dickinson Press

1. The North Dakota Industrial Commission on Monday approved the creation of a saltwater disposal well outside of Killdeer that some think is too close to a future subdivision.

During a meeting in Bismarck, the IC ruled that Waterworks Killdeer LLC would be allowed to dispose of saltwater and other fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process in an area where lots are for sale.

In a compromise of sorts, Waterworks Killdeer agreed to position its new injection well further away from the planned 20-lot subdivision, but not the 2,500 feet further away engineer and contracting owner Cory Ravnaas had requested for the site, which is about nine miles west of Killdeer.

In a letter sent to the IC in August, Ravnaas argued it would be “inappropriate to site a commercial saltwater disposal well immediately adjacent to a platted residential neighborhood,” according to the IC.

In a separate letter to the IC, Dahl Homestead Development owners Tim and Fayleen Fischer also requested the disposal well be moved away from the subdivision site, citing concerns about added truck traffic, noise and dust.

“We don’t have an issue with the well itself,” Fayleen Fischer said Tuesday. “We would just prefer it wasn’t so close to the site.”

Ravnaas went a step further in his letter, saying he thought it would be “disastrous to the success of the new rural residential community.”

Testifying on behalf of Waterworks Killdeer at an earlier hearing before the IC, Brent Lansberg stated the company was willing to move the surface facilities of the operation away from the subdivision site, though he said they would not move the requested 2,500 feet.

In its finding, the IC did not list a specific distance for surface operations to be moved. At the hearing, Lansberg had noted Waterworks Killdeer still needed to obtain an approach permit from the North Dakota Department of Transportation for access to the site and added the company would attempt to receive permission to gain access directly from Highway 200 to limit truck traffic.

Also in the finding, the IC noted that “the proposed injection well will be constructed in such a manner as to prevent the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking water,” something the IC doesn’t take lightly, said Department of Mineral Resources Public Information Officer Alison Ritter.

“The construction of injection wells is something that is taken very seriously,” Ritter said. “All wells are tested monthly to make sure they are in full working order.”

Another subdivision, owned by a different company, is planned for an 80-acre site east of Killdeer. Work is expected to begin on that site later this year.

Ravnaas declined to comment to The Dickinson Press about the decision by the IC.

Tags: industrial commission, oil, killdeer, well, frack, fracking, oil, energy, local, news, ic, regulation, minerals

Oil Well explosion, North Dakota

Not wanting this to go by unnoticed.....

Crews clean at oil well blowout site

WILLISTON — Cleanup crews baled contaminated vegetation, scraped away affected soil and power washed equipment Monday after an oil well blowout south of here that sprayed oil and salt water into nearby fields.

By: Amy Dalrymple, The Dickinson Press

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Amy Dalrymple/Forum Communications Kris Roberts, an environmental geologist with the North Dakota Department of Health Division of Water Quality, oversees the cleanup of an oil well blowout near Williston.

 Talk about it

WILLISTON — Cleanup crews baled contaminated vegetation, scraped away affected soil and power washed equipment Monday after an oil well blowout south of here that sprayed oil and salt water into nearby fields.

Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a worker who was struck by a pickup as a worker drove it away from the spewing oil.

The blowout, which sprayed 400 barrels of oil and 400 barrels of produced water used for hydraulic fracturing, is not believed to have contaminated water sources, said Kris Roberts, an environmental geologist with the North Dakota Department of Health Division of Water Quality.
However, the cleanup contractor expanded the perimeter of the affected area because workers were seeing vegetation that was wilting and turning brown, Roberts said. The area that was most heavily affected is estimated to be about 30 to 40 acres. A mist of oil and salt water is believed to have extended no further than a mile in opposite directions of the well, affecting crop and pasture land.

Workers estimated they recovered about 200 barrels of each fluid as they got control of the well, Roberts said. The incident occurred during the evening of Aug. 14 and into the next day.
Cleanup crews placed absorbent booms to prevent the contamination from spreading to Long Creek, which empties into Lake Sakakawea. They also worked to cut and remove vegetation that was contaminated, Roberts said.

“By getting it out of there as quickly as possible, we will see very little impact to the soil itself,” Roberts said.

Crews had completed the drilling and hydraulic fracturing process for that well and were completing the well for production when the blowout occurred, Roberts said.

The release of salt water and chemical solution is more devastating than an oil spill, Roberts said.
“A lot of times, if it’s just an oil release, vegetation will have completely recovered by the next season,” he said. “With a salt water release, if we don’t handle it properly and quickly, that type of impact could last three years.”

The company that controlled the well, Zavanna, which is based in Denver, is cooperating with the cleanup and being proactive, Roberts said.

“They are very concerned with the impacts and working to clean up the impact so that the landowners have as little problem as possible,” Roberts said.

Roberts said Zavanna also deserves a pat on the back for the design of its well site, which has a raised area similar to a racetrack around the site. That design helped contain the spill.
The company could face fines from the Department of Health or the Department of Mineral Resources, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Zavanna did not return calls seeking comment.

Field inspectors from the Department of Mineral Resources are investigating what led to the incident, said spokeswoman Alison Ritter.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been advised of the spill but so far is not involved, Roberts said.

Wayne Biberdorf, a former Hess Corp. engineer who now serves as energy impact coordinator for Gov. Jack Dalrymple, said a blowout incident is rare, and industry leaders will be studying this case. A blowout is an uncontrolled release of reservoir fluids into the wellbore.

“Even a small number is serious,” said Biberdorf, who was not familiar with the specifics of this incident. “Most companies take a long, hard look at those types of incidents.”
Roberts estimates that health officials have responded to about four or five blowout incidents in the past two years.

“It’s very few, considering the number of oil wells that are being drilled and the ones that are already in existence,” Roberts said.

Eric Brooks, assistant director for the Bismarck Area OSHA Office, said the victim worked for Steamboat Energy Consultants as an independent contractor who oversaw the operation of the workover rig.

The man was identified as 39-year-old Jason Pinasco of Higden, Ark.

As oil was spraying all over, workers moved their pickups away from the well, Brooks said. One of the pickups struck and killed Pinasco. Brooks said he did not have information about the driver’s employer.

Williams County Sheriff Scott Busching said his office considers the case an accident. The Williams County State’s Attorney’s Office was still reviewing the case on Monday.

This is the eighth workplace death from the oil and gas industry since Oct. 1 that the Bismarck Area OSHA Office has investigated.

Pinasco was married and had a son and daughter, according to an obituary published in Farmington, N.M. The obituary said he spent his career working in the oilfield.

“He loved his work and the wonderful people he met all over the states,” the obituary reads.
A representative from Steamboat Energy Consultants referred questions to Zavanna.
Dalrymple is a reporter stationed in the Oil Patch. Reach her at adalrymple@forumcomm.com or 701- 580-6890.