Seven burned in West Virginia gas well blast

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MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — A crew drilling a natural gas well through an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia hit a pocket of methane gas that ignited, triggering an explosion that burned seven workers, state and company officials said Monday.

The seven workers were taken to the West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh and were in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. They are expected to recover.

The explosion happened about 1:30 a.m. in a rural area outside Moundsville, about 55 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. A column of fire shot at least 70 feet high, but the flames fell to 40 feet within hours. Gas continued to burn late Monday afternoon.

A team from Texas-based Wild Well Control, a company that specializes in rig fires, will decide whether to let the methane burn or try to extinguish the flames, said Kristi Gittins, spokeswoman for Dallas,Texas-based Chief Oil and Gas.

The fire presents no danger to any structures or people, said Bill Hendershot, an inspector with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas.

The operation was less than a week old: DEP records show a permit was issued June 2 to AB Resources Pennsylvania of Brecksville, Ohio.

Crews had drilled through the abandoned Consol Energy mine before without incident, Gittins said.

Methane is a known risk when working near old mines, and the company typically takes a variety of precautions, including venting systems. Gittins could not immediately say what precautions were in place at this site.

Prentice Cline, assistant area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Charleston, said blowout preventers are typically required on gas rigs.

But DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said the Union rig didn’t have one because it hadn’t yet reached a depth where a blowout preventer is required. When the accident occurred, it was still drilling a hole through rock, not pumping gas.

Blowout preventers are required when the driller has reached its target formation undergound or when a high volume of pressure can be expected, Cosco said.

-- Associated Press