Incident Report
Subject: Well Capping can be Unpredictable Date of Email reporting Incident: Tue 25/12/2007 Report Detail:
"These guys went in there and found they could make some things happen pretty quick." Cudd Well Control was deferring all questions Monday about the gas line that burst into flames in the Atchafalaya Basin to Bridas Energy USA Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, which owns the line. Bridas representatives didn't return calls for this story. Repairing a blown line and well is a dangerous ordeal, Briggs said. First and foremost, workers had to pump tons of water onto a monstrous flame with an apparent endless supply of gas fueling it. Until you get close to one of those, it's the most terrifying thing in the world," Briggs said. "It's like the devil unleashing his breath." Once the fire was manageable, gas was still spewing out that needed to be choked off. Workers had to stuff large tubes down the gas pipe as a temporary clog inside. Once gas stopped flowing out with great force, workers could then cap the pipe with a controllable valve that acts like a nozzle on the end of a waterhose, Briggs said. Millions of pounds of melted metal had to ultimately be pulled away from the area, the remains of a drilling rig that sat over the well. The blowout happened on Nov. 15, when workers for Bridas Energy USA were drilling for a new well and pressure blew the gas line open, which later caught fire. State police initially expected to reopen I-10 within days, but Cudd Well Control said its well capping effort may have taken until Dec. 4. State police said Sunday that the well had been secured, and remaining gas was sent to a flare further from the interstate, where it would burn off to relieve pressure in the line. LSU has had a graduate-level course in its petroleum engineering department that deals in well blowouts and trains people to fight these fires, said Jim Welsh, commissioner of conservation within the state Department of Natural Resources. "So, you've got a lot of experts out there regarding the specifics on how to control these well blowouts," he said. "We in Louisiana know that blowouts do happen and we know that people are trained to handle those situations
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