98
According to later analyses by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), the frack from the Marcellus well on the Guindon farm did not
directly connect with the Butters well, but “communicated” with it in terms of pressures. The investigation concluded that the Marcellus Shale drilling and fracking
activity disturbed existing pockets of gas, which then migrated to the Butters well
and began displacing water that had accumulated in the borehole over decades. The
pressurized gas caused the well water to fountain some 30 feet (10 m) into the air
(Fig. 6.1).
The geyser was brought under control after the Marcellus operator reduced gas
pressure in the shale formation by flaring. Once the water stopped flowing out of the
Butters well, it was filled with cement and properly plugged. This incident brought
to light the problem of legacy abandoned wells in areas that are being re-explored
for shale gas and tight oil. Pennsylvania has literally hundreds of thousands of such
Fig. 6.1 An abandoned well discharges a 30-foot (10 m) geyser of water after communicating
with a Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracture in 2012. (Source: National Public Radio, StateImpact,
public domain)
6 Fracking and Water
According to later analyses by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), the frack from the Marcellus well on the Guindon farm did not
directly connect with the Butters well, but “communicated” with it in terms of pressures. The investigation concluded that the Marcellus Shale drilling and fracking
activity disturbed existing pockets of gas, which then migrated to the Butters well
and began displacing water that had accumulated in the borehole over decades. The
pressurized gas caused the well water to fountain some 30 feet (10 m) into the air
(Fig. 6.1).
The geyser was brought under control after the Marcellus operator reduced gas
pressure in the shale formation by flaring. Once the water stopped flowing out of the
Butters well, it was filled with cement and properly plugged. This incident brought
to light the problem of legacy abandoned wells in areas that are being re-explored
for shale gas and tight oil. Pennsylvania has literally hundreds of thousands of such
Fig. 6.1 An abandoned well discharges a 30-foot (10 m) geyser of water after communicating
with a Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracture in 2012. (Source: National Public Radio, StateImpact,
public domain)
6 Fracking and Water