Suspected Oil and Gas Pipeline Event April 29 2008

We found this going on this morning when we walked outside (April 29, 2008).

At first we thought it was a gas well that had blown, so we immediately called 911. Later, a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission field inspector noted that one of the area operators or perhaps a pipeline company (we're still waiting to learn who did what exactly) blew some gas (nitrogen apparently) from a newly installed pipeline, some 4.5 miles long.

We're also still waiting to learn what the gunky-looking stuff was that seemed to be spewing into the valley (which all of us happened to be breathing).

The sound was incredible - a tremendous, constant whooshing sound.

The event lasted from aprox 7:30 am to 8:15 am - with the gunky stuff shooting upward for all but the last ten minutes or so.

It was identified as a "controlled" event.

For more info on this event, please visit journeyoftheforsaken.com

P.S. when choosing tags for this video I thought about "crap that goes on that you don't know about"... but that's silly. Because now you know. I'm sure there will be more to come.

Update - May 2008: We learned this event was caused by Orion, an area operator, who was apparently tying into an EnCana pipeline. EnCana's stakeholder relations department has put out the word to coordinate with them before such an event happens again.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• oil
• and
• gas
• event
• environmental
• pipeline
• Divide
• Creek
• toxic
• air
• quality
• journey
• of
• the
• forsaken

[sk8rguy178]

hey its "natural gas" how bad could it be

[mevers143]

It probably was nitrogen if they were preparing to tie into an existing pipeline then. If the new section was only 4.5 miles long and it was getting that high in the atmosphere, that must be one large diameter pipe. The "gunky stuff" was probably the moisture in the air, when they test pipelines they usually test them at 1.5 times the maximum allowable operating pressure, or MAOP, of the pipe itself and the larger the pipe the higher the MAOP.

[b1aflatoxin]

I'm sure these companies are great to work for. But at what cost. IMO a good person will research his potential field of work extensively, and from all angles. In this case one would learn that yes, you would have a great job, but that job is related to *reckless development. *Including the use of "fracing" fluids that DO end up in the ground water, i.e. toxic *benzene, xylene, and toluene.

* Bad, hazy air too. * In 2002 energy companies where granted toxic exemptions.

* = Smithsonian Jan 2007

[b44rogers]

I don't know if you ever got a call back about this but it looks like a CO2/N2 venting in the lines before a frac. This is assuming their are doing an energized frac of some sort. Likely not hazardous....

Encana is a good company with a solid environment reputation, I don't believe they would be venting well gases direct to atmosphere as this is a serious environmental violation.

[ColoradokayakGirl]

Bill Barrett Again? Nice poisen. This must be stopped before its too late.