WV Gorby Pad Pipeline ‘Explosion’ & Fire Under Investigation

"Explosion" & Fire on Gorby Well Pad

WV Tyler County Pipeline at Gorby Pad Ignites & Burns

From an Article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, July 11, 2015

Middlebourne, WV – A pipeline rupture early Friday, July 10th led emergency officials from Tyler, Wetzel and Doddridge counties to respond to a fire at a Jay Bee Oil & Gas well site in the Marcellus Shale named the Gorby drilling pad [off Big Run Road, Indian Creek Road, and WV Route 18].

“There was no explosion,” Jake Glance, spokesman for the WV Department of Environmental Protection, said. “There was a rupture in the natural gas pipeline on the pad, which was the source of the fire.”

Glance said there was not an explosion at the site, located in the Big Run area of rural Tyler County. He said the fire did not take place inside the well itself. The flame, which could be seen for several miles in the dark early morning sky, originated from the pipeline, he said.
“It burned for approximately one hour. The fire was isolated and contained, and once the wells were shut down, the fire was extinguished,” Glance said.

Tyler County Emergency Management Director Tom Cooper said firefighters from Shirley, Alma, Middlebourne, Sistersville, Paden City and Doddridge County reported to the scene, along with sheriff’s deputies and medical personnel. He and Glance each said they were unaware of any injuries resulting from the blaze.

Glance said the fire did spread to a pair of production units, which he said the company uses to dry the natural gas in preparation for transport. “There were no spills,” he said. “No storage tanks were damaged.”

According to its website, Cairo, WV-based Jay-Bee Oil & Gas operates in Wetzel, Tyler, Doddridge, Gilmer and Ritchie Counties. It also plans to eventually operate in Marshall, Marion, Harrison, Lewis, Braxton, Calhoun, Wirt, Wood and Pleasants counties.
“At this time, the wells remain closed and the cause of the fire is under investigation by DEP and company officials,” Glance added.

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Note: Local residents heard the explosion then saw the fire and reported the event to the Tyler County emergency 911 service. When is a pipeline explosion not an explosion, when the pipeline ruptures?   The rupture caused the fire, rather than a fire causing the rupture! But, when you hear it (rupture of pipe and/or ignition of gas) and see it (huge fire lighting the sky), it would seem to be an explosion.

See also:  WTRF News Report