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"Unstoppable" California Gas Leak Now Being Called Worst Catastrophe Since BP Spill

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Since initially reporting on California's Alison Canyon gas leak, more details have emerged on the scale (and potential for no solution) of the problem as the infamous Erin Brockovich writes, "the enormity of the Aliso Canyon gas leak cannot be overstated. Gas is escaping through a ruptured pipe more than 8,000 feet underground, and it shows no signs of stopping," as according to the California Air Resources Board, methane - a greenhouse gas 72 times more impactful in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide - has been escaping from the Aliso Canyon site with force equivalent “to a volcanic eruption” for about two months now.

New infrared footage exposes the massive leak..

 

Infographic of leak (and potential solution)

 

As TheAntiMedia.org's Claire Bernish details, methane gas continues spewing, unchecked, into the air over southern California from a fractured well to an underground storage site — at such an alarming rate that low-flying planes have necessarily been diverted by the FAA, lest internal combustion engines meet highly volatile gas and, well, blow the entire area to hell.  

This is, indeed, the biggest environmental catastrophe since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; and for now, there is no way to stop it.

This methane disaster is worse than can be sufficiently described in words, because while it’s estimated well over 100,000 pounds of methane spew into the atmosphere every hour, the leak can’t be halted, at least until spring. Even then, that stoppage depends entirely on the efficacy of a proposed fix — which remains a dubiously open question.

According to the California Air Resources Board, methane — a greenhouse gas 72 times more impactful in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide — has been escaping from the Aliso Canyon site with force equivalent “to a volcanic eruption” for about two months now. So far, the total leaked gas measures somewhere around 100,000 tons — adding “approximately one-quarter to the regular statewide methane emissions” during that same time frame.

“The relative magnitude of emissions from the leak compared to other sources of methane in the State underscores the urgency of stopping the gas leak. This comes on top of any problems caused by odor and any potential impacts from exposure,” states the initial report on the Aliso leak by air quality officials.

The enormity of the Aliso Canyon gas leak cannot be overstated. Gas is escaping through a ruptured pipe more than 8,000 feet underground, and it shows no signs of stopping. As the pressure from the weight on top of the pipe causes the gas to diffuse, it only continues to dissipate across a wider and wider area,” explained Erin Brockovich, who spent time in nearby Porter Ranch investigating the leak.

Officials and experts are concerned, and they can’t recall another leak of this magnitude in decades — if ever. “I asked this question of our staff of 30 years,” said Steve Bohlen, who recently left his position as state supervisor of oil and gas. “This is unique in the last three or four decades. This is an unusual event, period.”

Though methane, itself, has no odor, the addition of odorants methyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene — a safety measure to alert people by smell to the presence of natural gas — has made the enormous methane seepage impossible to ignore. Thousands of households have evacuated the area, despite little help, much less information, from the gas company about when they might be able to return. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, SoCalGas spokesperson Michael Mizrahi claimed the company had paid to relocate and house 2,092 households — but that effort is severely lacking, says Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.

Yesterday, the city attorney’s office sought a restraining order to mandate SoCalGas relocate residents in the affected area within 48 hours of their request; and it is also seeking a “special master” to oversee the entire relocation operation, which is currently being handled by the gas company. Not only does the present relocation lack speed and coordination, but a housing crunch has resulted in surrounding areas — in some cases landlords, who prefer year-long leases to shorter terms, have driven rent as high as $8,500 per month. Hotels are operating at capacity, and in “some of those hotel rooms there are not enough beds for the people who are being moved,” explained chief deputy to the city attorney, James P. Clark.

“It’s time Porter Ranch residents had direct and complete answers about all facets of this leak,” Clark continued, “including what caused it, how to stop it, and what will be done to assure it never happens again. They should receive better, quicker, and completely adequate relocation assistance.”

On Thursday, Los Angeles Unified School District board members voted unanimously to close two Porter Ranch schools and relocate their 1,900 students and staff to different locations for the foreseeable future. A local emergency has been declared by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Multiple lawsuits have now been initiated against SoCalGas and/or its parent company, Sempra Energy. A Los Angeles firm representing three of the families, who filed their suit Friday, described in a statement that the well has been “leaking noxious odors, hazardous gases, chemicals, pollutants, and contaminants due to a massive well failure and blowout. However, SoCalGas failed to inform residents of neighboring communities of the disastrous gas leak in a timely manner, putting the health and well-being of thousands of families in jeopardy.” Those suits allege “negligence, strict liability of ultra-hazardous activity, private nuisance, inverse condemnation, and trespass.”

A class-action lawsuit has also been filed on behalf of the Save Porter Ranch group; and City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a civil suit earlier this month due to the leak’s continued threat to residents’ health and damage to the environment, alleging failure by SoCalGas to prevent the leak and further exacerbation of “the effects of that failure by allowing the acute odor and health problems faced by the community to persist for more than one month, to say nothing about the indefinite time it will persist into the future,” state the court documents. “No community should have to endure what the residents of Porter Ranch have suffered from the gas company’s continued failure to stop that leak,” Feuer stated.

SoCalGas insists there will be no long-term health effects resulting from the persistent leak; but as Brockovich pointed out, “no one really knows the potential long-term side effects of benzene and radon, the carcinogens that are commonly found in natural gas.” In an email to the Los Angeles Daily News, SoCalGas stated they were “providing air filters for people’s homes” and “have established a claims process for those who feel they may have suffered harm or injury. And our top priority remains stopping this leak as quickly and safely as possible.

“While the odor added to the leaking gas can cause symptoms for some, the gas is not toxic and county health officials have said the leak does not pose a long-term health risk.”

But what’s making this massive leak so difficult to stop pertains to the storage ‘container,’ itself. “We have the largest natural gas storage system in the world,” boasts Chris McGill, vice president of the American Gas Association. In the United States, old underground oil fields are often put to use as storage vessels for natural gas — because, hey, that geology worked just fine to hold oil for millions of years, so why not natural gas?

In fact, there are some 300 such depleted subterranean oil fields being employed this way around the United States. Aliso Canyon, a natural gas storage site since the 1970s, has one of the largest capacities: 86 billion cubic feet. During the summer, gas earmarked for winter heating is pumped into these underground cavities by SoCalGas — and the process is reversed with the turn of the seasons. However, this year, workers encountered what quickly became evident was anything but a typical hiccup. As Wired reported:

“On October 23, workers noticed the leak at a 40-year-old well in Aliso Canyon. Small leaks are routine, says Bohlen, and SoCalGas did what it routinely does: put fluid down the well to stop the leak and tinker with the well head. It didn’t work. The company tried it five more times, and the gas kept leaking. At this point, it was clear the leak was far from routine, and the problem was deeper underground.”

Beginning December 4th, SoCalGas crews began drilling a relief well to intercept the fissured pipe. Cement will then be poured into both to seal the wells permanently. Of course, for this to work, crews must locate that original pipe, which is a mere seven inches in diameter, thousands of feet underground — without accidentally creating any sparks, whatsoever. Work near the leak site, therefore, has been prohibited after nightfall, when lighting equipment could potentially cause such a spark; though drilling for the relief well is situated far enough away to continue nonstop.

Flaring, or setting a deliberate fire to burn off excess gas, simply isn’t an option. The mammoth scope of this leak means a flare would ultimately complicate matters even further.

“There is no stone being left unturned to get this well closed,” Bohlen stated. “It’s our top priority.”

In the meantime, it will be months without any possibility of halting this disaster-in-motion. Sickened, uprooted, and furious residents can rest assured, though, because even as methane spews nonstop into the air, SoCalGas did have this consolation:

“We are deeply sorry for the frustration.”

 

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Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:56 | 6961158 2bit Hoarder
2bit Hoarder's picture

The wells that are being sealed on a relatively regular basis are not abandoned at all .. they are simply unprofitable.  They are still producing oil and/or gas, but at a rate not sufficient to justify the cost of maintaining the project.  That being an eventuality for every well that is drilled, there are technologies and procedures that are developed, tested and field proven many times over for sealing up an existing well, be it for oil. gas or both.  The only thing that makes this particular case tricky, is that the location and nature of the breech is unknown. 

think of it like this.  a pipe springs a leak 2000 feet down and the well needs to be capped.  A possible solution would be ... using a hydraulic cylinder, shove a "stopper" 40 feet deep and start backfilling with mud  (not actual mud, but that is the generic term used for all drilling fluids) to counteract the pressures, adding drill pipe section and more mud to push down the stopper further and further.  after 2000 feet of pipe and mud are downhole, continue pushing pipe, but switch from mud to cement for another 2 or 3 hundred feet.  the cement has a chemical curing agent added to it to cure it at a know rate downhole, so with a couple million pounds of mud followed by a couple hundred thousand pounds of now cured cement shoved down below the hole in your pipe, the well is very effectively (and permanently) sealed.  That is the "easy" way.  The hard way is to drill a new well at an angle and intercept the pipe below the breech and then follow those steps.  More difficult, but if the pipe has completely broken and shifted due to something like an earthquake or something, there may not be an alternative.

you are talking about the flow rates and pressure being significantly higher than abandoned/unprofitable wells ... how do you think that well came to be there to begin with?  it is essentially the same procedures used to drill the well to begin with, having to deal with all of the pressure of the previously untapped well ... do you think that the pressures were lower when the well was drilled compared to what it is now after how many millions of cubic meters of gas have been removed? 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:47 | 6961355 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

. . . do you think that the pressures were lower when the well was drilled compared to what it is now after how many millions of cubic meters of gas have been removed?

 

It is my understanding that this is a storage site and the gas that is there was pumped in - I don't believe that this was a "producing" well any time in the last decade or so.  Therefore the pressure of the gas at this location could actually be higher than the native gas was when it first was drilled.  I don't have all of the details on this issue yet . . .

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:05 | 6961548 2bit Hoarder
2bit Hoarder's picture

While it may or may not have been emptied and then re-used as a storage facility later, it was still a well drilled, tapping into a pressurized resevoir at some point.  It would take a lot of convincing to have me believe that they would pressurize the resevoir beyond what the intial pressures were (it would typically be significantly less) as the structural integrity and potential leak paths are obviously unknown in the case of a natural resevoir 8,000 feet below the surface.

 

we do in fact pressurize fields regularly, as they are not the lakes of oil that people envision, but rather oil saturated, semi-porous rock.  We will drill additional wells to inject water into the other end of the field, essentially squeezing the oil out like you do the last of the toothpaste.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:32 | 6960157 TRM
TRM's picture

Don't worry. SoCal Gas will just pass along any costs to their customers.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:32 | 6960163 Expat
Expat's picture

McJobs are fine because it's a sign capitalism is working.

Poverty is fine because it proves that lazy stupid people don't get free stuff.

War is fine because we are righteous and the massacres of brown women and children proves this.

School shootings are fine because it shows that our 2nd Amendment rights are strong.

Gas leaks are fine because it proves our economy is robust.

Total annihilation of mankind is fine because it would prove the universe simply can't stand total assholes.

Merry Christmas, America.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:58 | 6960238 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

School shootings show the 2nd Amendment is not being used.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:32 | 6960164 22winmag
22winmag's picture

When the U.S. breaks up into 5 or 6 new nations, Mexifornia can be an island unto itself.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:09 | 6960892 jomama
jomama's picture

Don't get my hopes up.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:33 | 6960165 RaceToTheBottom
RaceToTheBottom's picture

Just bury a bone in the ground near the leak.  

When I give those bones to my German shepherd, he gets really stopped up.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:34 | 6960167 PrimalScream
PrimalScream's picture

Methane is a much more serious Greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  Its ironic that the world climate conference was happening in Paris, while this methane blowout was happening in California.  

Thanks to ZeroHedge for highlighting problems like this, and also the ongoing radiation leaks from Fukushima.  These issues are not getting much coverage in other places.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:47 | 6960203 IridiumRebel
IridiumRebel's picture

There is no money to be made. You can't tax the plebes with this shit and it has the added benefit for these fuckers of killing us slowly.

Anthro Climate Change: give us your tax money to "save us" as we fight the boogeyman in the sky.

 

#horseshit

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:44 | 6960194 anomalous
anomalous's picture

As the pressure from the weight on top of the pipe causes the gas to diffuse, it only continues to dissipate across a wider and wider area,” explained Erin Brockovich,

I want more stuff explained by Erin.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:52 | 6960215 Barnaby
Barnaby's picture

I'd like her to weigh in on Paul Ryan's beard.

The one on his face.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:45 | 6960196 Falconsixone
Falconsixone's picture

Better call in an experp. I'm sure the grey king would agree it's gotta be easier to fill two holes than just one with concrete. If I didn't know better I'd think there was more to this then the company is saying.  Land grab or isis lights up a nun. Target rich.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:47 | 6960205 DarthVaderMentor
DarthVaderMentor's picture

Make Kalifornia pay its own carbon emissions tax and fines from the Paris accord. I'm sure Nancy Pelosi and Governor Moonbeam have stolen enough to pay the fines.

Maybe the gas leak is the cause of the East Coast weather? Have the East sue California for the unusually warm Christmas! Climate Change!

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:00 | 6960246 Barnaby
Barnaby's picture

You know, coastal polluters could actually be putting their carbon to good use. With easy access to an ocean, carbon dioxide could be sequestered as artificial reefs, polymers, gems and minerals from serpentinization. But nobody's looking for an "out," they're just looking for a tax.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:49 | 6960208 JamaicaJim
JamaicaJim's picture

Where's Bugs Bunny with his saw TO CUT THAT FUCKING STATE OFF THE U.S. AND LET THE BITCH FLOAT OUT TO SEA?????

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 11:54 | 6960228 SpanishGoop
SpanishGoop's picture

Just go for the US solution.

"Bomb it until it stops".

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:24 | 6960346 GhostOfDiogenes
GhostOfDiogenes's picture

Tell the airface it is an Isis hospital?

Maybe air drop some Toyotas?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:02 | 6960697 smacker
smacker's picture

Yeahbut ...I hear they're running out of bombs.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:15 | 6960302 Absalon
Absalon's picture

This is not the first "unstoppable" natural gas leak.  They could just "light it up" and create a tourist attraction like the Soviets did (the pictures are pretty cool):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_to_Hell

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:31 | 6961304 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

Given natural gas prices, they might make more money as a tourist attraction. 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:15 | 6960304 Ms No
Ms No's picture

Brockovich forgot H2S.  Radon+Benzene+H2S.  It's possible that H2S isn't a problem in that area but should be mentioned as a potential.  I have always been leary of statements such as this..

"Though methane, itself, has no odor, the addition of odorants methyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene — a safety measure to alert people by smell to the presence of natural gas."

Yes odorants are commonly added and when pure, methane and H2S don't have an odor; however, almost everytime I have been at a well with high in H2S it has almost always reeked of rotten eggs without any odorants added.  I am not sure about methane. 

This may depend on the specifics of the gas from that area but I wouldn't take anybodies word for it.  There was one well in NoDak land that was so bad for H2S that it was super heating and blowing the engines of all of the trucks that came on site, it had to be cordoned off and people had to wear suits.  I don't know how they ended up fixing it. 

I was never on site on that well but I went by it a few times and that one reeked too and birds would drop out of the sky, always watch for the canaries.  I also worked a quck job at a plant where birds would fall dead on the roof from H2S.  Good times.    

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:59 | 6960483 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

methane and H2S don't have an odor . . .

 

You are correct about methane being odorless but I'm not sure where you got your info from regarding hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as it stinks like rotten eggs BIG TIME!! 

As you pointed out in your comment hydrogen sulfide is also extremely poisonous so if there are high concentrations of that gas in what is being emitted at the site in CA that is a HUGE problem . . .

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:48 | 6960650 Ms No
Ms No's picture

I agree that it stinks, I probably didn't word that right. That's info that comes from companies and is put out in safety classes.  If I remember right what they say is that at some threshold of parts per million it begins to stink but can be dangerous before it stinks.  So although it stinks you can't always smell it kindof thing.  

Many of the monitors that they give out nobody trusts because quite often the wells etc., are known to have a problem and smell like crap and are pitting metal (really bad sign) and yet the monitors will claim everything is peachy and they never have the things calibrated (at least not the shitty companies I have worked with).  I guess what I was trying to say is if I smell rotten eggs I will suspect that H2S is present regardless of what they say.  

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:41 | 6961331 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

. . . if I smell rotten eggs I will suspect that H2S is present regardless of what they say.

 

And get the hell out of there right away!!

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:21 | 6960330 Ajax_USB_Port_R...
Ajax_USB_Port_Repair_Service_'s picture

" total leaked gas measures somewhere around 100,000 tons"

When did we start measuring natural gas by weight?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:48 | 6960445 withglee
withglee's picture

I buy mine by weight. What unit do you propose?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:08 | 6960506 Ajax_USB_Port_R...
Ajax_USB_Port_Repair_Service_'s picture

That would be propane not natural gas.

Maybe they are storing propane in the well?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:43 | 6960637 withglee
withglee's picture

That's a difference without a distinction. Methane is a "naturally occurring" gas. Propane is a petroleum derivative. But both are gases.

How do you store propane in a well? How do you measure how much is stored there?

You can only measure its pressure and its flow (in units of volume per time). You can't measure the amount of it until you've collected an amount (at some pressure, temperature, and volume). That defines the number of molecules and that's what has weight.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:49 | 6961166 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

Propane is naturally occuring.  It's a condensate from natural gas and is removed to prevent liquid from forming in pipelines. 

In many natural gas fields there's a LOT of surplus propane.  In westen Canada this summer, the producers were PAYING companies to haul away propane at times.  

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:03 | 6961226 withglee
withglee's picture

Anopheles: Have you not been paying attention? This thread started with  the following question:

" total leaked gas measures somewhere around 100,000 tons"

When did we start measuring natural gas by weight?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:24 | 6961278 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

Look at that.  You are proven to be wrong, and you go and change the subject. 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 18:13 | 6961422 withglee
withglee's picture

Anopheles:

Proven wrong and change the subject? I just refreshed the subject. Gas is measured as weight because that's the only reasonable way to measure it. Whether the gas is methane, propane, butane, oxygen, hydrogen, argon, whatever ... it's metered and measured by weight if the pressure, temperature, and volume are not strictly controlled.

Proven to be wrong? What wrong? What proof? What change of subject?

Look at that!

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:54 | 6960468 Motorhead
Motorhead's picture

Yeah, I mean, whatever happened to cubic feet?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:14 | 6960523 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

" total leaked gas measures somewhere around 100,000 tons" . . .

 

There are roughly 4 tons per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas (actually 8,003.26 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet).  So if 100,000 tons of gas has been emitted so far that equates to approximately 25 million cubic feet of gas.  At the reported release rate of 100,000 pounds of gas per hour that equates to approximately 12,500 cubic feet of gas per hour.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:30 | 6960364 RonArgent
RonArgent's picture

Look on the bright side, the effects of the so called "greenhouse gas" causing warming of the atmosphere will be offset by people burning fossil fuels, which NASA NOW SAYS causes global cooling.

 

In other words, we should all SHUT THE FUCK UP about cLIEmate change and other socialist faggot fairy tales.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:41 | 6960372 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Thanks for bringing me up to shutter speed .... I missed the IR camera line .... but, I recover from my slip .... IR cameras could scan farts in airport security lines .... Muslims who aren't farting .... have IEDs up their rectums ?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:37 | 6960397 Dodgy Geezer
Dodgy Geezer's picture

Is a British, or any other foreign company involved?  No?

 

Then move along, nothing to see here...

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:42 | 6960421 Lets Hang Parliament
Lets Hang Parliament's picture

Hmm...do the math 100,000 lbs an hour converts to around 400,000 metric tonnes a year. Current rate of US methane emission is just North of 6oo million tonnes so this represents 0.07% to put it in context.

it's still an appalling episode and as usual the powers that be are trying to sweep it under the carpet.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:25 | 6960554 Dickweed Wang
Dickweed Wang's picture

Current rate of US methane emission is just North of 6oo million tonnes so this represents 0.07% to put it in context.

 

Great point!  I think what makes this incident so important is the concentrated release at a single site and the impact it is having on the local environment and people living near the site. 

The vast majority of the release points that make up the 600 million tonne/year you are referring to are tiny compared to what is going on in CA.  Based on that there have to be tens, if not hundreds, of thousand methane release points in the USA to equate to 600,000,000 tonnes per year . . . . and a large percentage of the methane being released is coming from animal farts, belches and their shit.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:43 | 6961156 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

No, the powers that be are not trying to "sweep it under the carpet". 

It's the green screamers that are blowing it all out of proportion. 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:48 | 6960446 Billy Shears
Billy Shears's picture

Phew! Something to worry about other than Fukushima radiation! Christmas miracles.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:50 | 6960456 Solio
Solio's picture

Men and their corporations are supreme ijits!

 They drill 8,000' down and do not expect plate or fault slippage?! Well, golly gee, surprise, surprise!

In CA, no less!

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:53 | 6960465 ---------
---------'s picture

merry christmas everyone                       execept of muslims, drown them in the sea

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 12:57 | 6960475 Ethelred the Unready
Ethelred the Unready's picture

So what is wrong with open pit coal mining like out in the dry west?  Good worker safety - few mine collapses.  Usually pretty clean as coal goes.  Don't give me that CO2 GW malarky.  (BTW isn't there a US Senator Malarky?).  The beauty of coal for generating electricity is that you can stockpile the stuff near the power plant in case of supply disruptions.  You can't stockpile nat gas.  If a terrorist cuts your NG pipeline, you lose electric power too.  

"Renewables" are too funny for words.  I think renewable means that you should plan on renewing (replacing) the wind turbine or solar panel every decade or so.

So, since ZH is anti-nuke Luddite site there is only.......Coal - the fuel of the future.  

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:03 | 6960490 I AM SULLY
I AM SULLY's picture

Being that Obama is an idiot, he will likely send someone ... who knows ... maybe he will go himself ... and that person will just light a match and blow CA in two.

But that will create jobs ...

(recovery summer 2016: this time, it's personal)

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:10 | 6960518 oldguy1
oldguy1's picture

SoCalGas did have this consolation:

“We are deeply sorry for the frustration.”

 

copy paste apology here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDqatJPvOfk

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:15 | 6960528 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

Who’s at the California post – toss a lit road flare into the mix.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:29 | 6960803 inosent
inosent's picture

Maybe someone here can explain this, but I dont get why they cant just toss in a match to burn the stuff off. I guess that would lead to one helivan eternal fireball (move over JFK) or an explosion that would level southern CA? ?? And the problem is ...???

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:27 | 6960558 Omega_Man
Omega_Man's picture

where is ISIS or CIA to ignite it?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:27 | 6960560 Buster Cherry
Buster Cherry's picture

Maybe Air Force One can do a photo-op flyover on the ride back from the big O's Hawaian vacation we all paid for...

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:30 | 6960582 Geezer Oil Trader
Geezer Oil Trader's picture

Goddammit, in the 60s when we were groovin' to "I Wanna Hold Your Gland" by the Beatles, we would have called fucking Red Adair in on this motherfucker and he'd have two guys wearing coveralls walk out to the leak and they'd shove industrial tampons down the hole (almost the same size of the one used to stop Mirant's financial discharge in the past decade when that bastion of female intellectual capital sloughed off into energy trading lore) and then they'd put a giant bell jar over the hole and dynamite the tampons into the hole so far that the leak would stop and when Connie Chung came out to interview Red he'd start off by saying, "My doll, you are talking to a man, a real man, who go anywhere, anytime, around the world and around the clock to cut costs on dumbassery...." And then he'd say, "Boots!  Coots!  One of you two go fetch me a beer."

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:32 | 6960584 Don Sunset
Don Sunset's picture

Al Gore can fix this!  Send him.  I'm sure he's available.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:33 | 6961128 atthelake
atthelake's picture

Super Al can dive into the hole and plug it with bullshit.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:35 | 6960604 Sanity Bear
Sanity Bear's picture

I'm surprised no one has done the obvious yet and consulted Kevin Costner.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:36 | 6960610 VWAndy
VWAndy's picture

The IR dont look like all that big of a leak. Im no expert but I would expect to see a large frozen area around the pipe. Or a much higher velosity plume jetting at least a few hundred feet into the air. This looks like low pressure venting to me.

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:40 | 6961148 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

I thought the same thing that it's not that big.     However a gas jet disperses very quickly

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:49 | 6961172 VWAndy
VWAndy's picture

I always got ice crystals shooting out of the shop compressor when draining it from 125 psi. It would freeze itself shut two or three times before it was drained.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 13:42 | 6960626 fencejumper
fencejumper's picture

Why does the author consider Erin Brockovich 'infamous' in the opening sentence?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:28 | 6960800 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

Well, the last time I saw her name, she was working as a front for an ambulance-chasing asbetos lawyer in, I think, DC.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:25 | 6960772 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

Isn't this just wonderful, eh. 8000' of drilling, but make sure that the drill head does not cause any sparks while doing it? Frankly, as one from Mechanical Engineering, I can honestly say that I have never heard of anything that can drill through rock without causing any sparks. Bottom line is that this relief drilling idea is not going to work because there is no way to cap the pipe once the relief hole is drilled through to the ruptured pipe. Moreover, the pounds per square inch [psi] of pressure pushing on the plug of cement shot into the relief hole will ensure that nothing sticks close to the blowout.

 

These idiots should not be allowed to drill holes into cheese let alone the Earth.

 

This is MASTER OF UNIVERSE reporting live from a world that has obviously gone effin' nuts.

 

PBR Streetgang, this is Almighty, over?

PBR Streetgang, this is Almighty, over?

 

Oh, the horror, the horror.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:00 | 6960875 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

NYC unions won't get overtime wages because of El Nino and the Sun. They can practice on the dry pavement of a Walmart parking lot. Obama always encourages new educational advancements in training. 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:28 | 6960944 R19
R19's picture

PBR Streetgang, this is Almighty, over?

Just watched it again.  FUCK

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:38 | 6961144 Anopheles
Anopheles's picture

Downhole, sparks are irrelevant.  There's no oxygen down there. 

If you actually are educated as an engineer, you should get your money back.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:06 | 6961236 silverer
silverer's picture

I agree.  Down that low, even just 10 feet or so, you should be in pure gas, outside the flammable limits.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 18:13 | 6961420 chicmagnet
chicmagnet's picture

An engineer would know that the fuel air ratio at ground zero is to concentrated to ignite. wouldn't he?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:09 | 6961557 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

I'm a Mechanical Engineering Technician, and not P.Eng, but friction from heat can ignite the liquid gas IMHO.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 12:45 | 6963075 Squirrel Tooth Alice
Squirrel Tooth Alice's picture

I believe that would be "heat from friction", and not vice versa. 

And no, natural gas will not ignite in the absence of O2. It will not ignite in concentrations above about about 15% per volume of air.

In other words, if your had a gas leak in your house that resulted in the house being uniformly filled with 30% methane and 70% air, you couldn't get it to ignite no matter how hard you tried, as the mixture would be about double the upper explosive limit (UEL) of methane. 

In reality, you wouldn't get that "uniform" mixture. The methane, which is lighter than air, would accumulate in high concentrations in the highest regions of your house... and at some lower region in your house the conditions would be ideal for blowing the house off its foundation.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:27 | 6960796 are we there yet
are we there yet's picture

Alison gas leak reminds me when Hillary eats too many beans.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:06 | 6960886 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Surprised that Hillary didn't take over the men's restroom and shit in urinal during debate break. What a piece of work that POS is.  

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:06 | 6961048 Lostinfortwalton
Lostinfortwalton's picture

You have just won the "All Nude Hillary 2016" calendar.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:18 | 6961081 R19
R19's picture

I WANT - haha

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 01:16 | 6962345 roddy6667
roddy6667's picture

As we speak, I am using a soldering iron to cauterize my visual cortex. It's the only guaranteed way to remove that mental image of HRC.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:30 | 6960804 hibou-Owl
hibou-Owl's picture

I good sized lump of C4 down the hole, couple thousand feet down, and give it a bit.  Follow up with shit load of mud.

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:39 | 6960823 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

Seems like an expensive waste of money to me. Let's review...

The well is pumped full in the summer and emptied in the winter as a seasonal reservoir. 

So any expensive and dangerous capping attempt that won't happen until spring isn't going to make much of a difference.

Run the sucker dry and then drop a bag of fast-set down the hole when the pressure is gone. 

Or...

Drill numerous other wells down into the reservoir area and bleed off the pressure and volume safely in a way that can be utilized and then cap the well when it is largely de-pressurized.

But in any eventuality, you lucky ducks in California are in for a bit of a surprise on next year's gas bills.

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:03 | 6961228 silverer
silverer's picture

Yeah.  And get a real storage area, you cheapskates.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:38 | 6960825 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

The dumb fucks are peddling products that won't sell. You can find it at a Walmart 80% off bin. I can't stop laughing!  

CO2 Meter | Carbon Dioxide Meters, Sensors, Monitors, Data ...

Co2 Sensor For Smart Home Device - Alibaba

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:35 | 6961131 silverer
silverer's picture

A C02 sensor?  That is funny.  The human body is an extremely sensitive C02 sensor, free of charge.  Try breathing in and out of a small paper bag for a half dozen breaths.  It's not lack of oxygen that makes you freak out, but the buildup of C02.  The human body has no mechanism to sense lack of oxygen.  It uses C02 as its guideline for your need of additional oxygen.  Your blood vessels react quickly to C02 buildup in your body by dilating and increasing blood flow.  That brings in fresh blood, therefore more oxygen (if you are breathing any).

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:50 | 6960855 Lostinfortwalton
Lostinfortwalton's picture

With the price of natural gas being so low and the fact that the current warm winter weather makes the situation even worse, I wonder if the owners of this well just sold a boatload of natural gas to their insurance company?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 14:51 | 6960856 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

We can request that Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer sniff out the entire climate change gas leak. On there hands and knees

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:04 | 6960880 henry chucho
henry chucho's picture

Happiness in Oregon; One Kalifornian diving into the Aliso Canyon methane hole,with a Mexican under each arm..

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:10 | 6960898 bugs_
bugs_'s picture

just plug the damn hole

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 15:30 | 6960955 Global Douche
Global Douche's picture

Nothing unusual enough that a properly-worded derivative couldn't fix.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:27 | 6961111 silverer
silverer's picture

Are the BP leak stopping experts answering the phone?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 22:43 | 6961114 benb
benb's picture

I don't believe anything coming out of these assholes running LA or the State of California. And we know anything coming out of the liars in D.C. is usually the exact opposite of what the dirt-bags are saying.

"...methane — a greenhouse gas 72 times more impactful in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide."

First lie, carbon dioxide is a beneficial gas and is at an historical atmospheric low at this time. Plant and animal life would flourish if it were to increase. As far as a methane disaster I just don't rate it as a disaster at this point. A disaster is the intentional poisoning of the food and groundwater with glyphosate and the attendant explosion in cancer as well as sterilizing the population.

But that isn't a story here in this episode of The Outer Limits .

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 16:30 | 6961119 atthelake
atthelake's picture

Whenever ANYTHING is said to be safe, we should, all, assume conflicts of financial interest turn people into liars. In other words, when something is said to be safe, it is never safe.

Liars lie, especially for money.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:14 | 6961256 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Just to get my head around the impact of the leak, can anyone equate this to what the rquivalent is in the number of cows?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:55 | 6961678 Mad Cow
Mad Cow's picture

Yes

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:17 | 6961266 ZangotheMagnificent1
ZangotheMagnificent1's picture

Let us see ... a burbhood in northwest San Fernando Valley. I would say it already suffers from gas.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:30 | 6961302 Joe Tierney
Joe Tierney's picture

WhaddaBunchofAlarmists!!!!!

 

The solution is so simple....

 

Put singer/actress Butt Muddler's fat global warming alarmist, homosexual pandering lips on the pipe - then she can suck gas instead of spewing it.

 

2 problems solved at once!

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:42 | 6961337 VW Nerd
VW Nerd's picture

This situation is a terrorist's wet dream.  I would immediately institute a 30+ mile no fly perimeter to keep some kook from flying an ignitor drone into the gas cloud.  Serious stuff....

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 17:56 | 6961373 ChargingHandle
ChargingHandle's picture

I can hear the call a for solar and wind power echoing in the San Gabriels

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:56 | 6961681 bunnyswanson
bunnyswanson's picture

Explosions clear the land of inhabitants and Agenda 21's going green is willing to do whatever it takes to return earth to nature (seize collateral behind the unpayable loans and imprison the tax-burdered masses as New White Slaves).  This gimmick is a 1st nation war without the headlines and fanfare.  NWO is behind this crime.  Failure is part of it.  But do not tell anyone.  It is a secret.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 18:28 | 6961461 RevIdahoSpud3
RevIdahoSpud3's picture

Just light the damn thing and burn it off. So it scorches a few hairs in California but there are worse things...?

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 18:38 | 6961488 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

Why is California so destructive of the environment?  Must be all those heathen liberal/socialist Democrats out there.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:31 | 6961617 bunnyswanson
bunnyswanson's picture

Cronyism allows shit to surface in pristine waters.  An infrastructure designed to fail in 100 years, without the obviously necessary maintenance is another form of genocide.  Feel the trickle down theory in progress?  Mediocre minds have stolen our worlds.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:35 | 6961630 Debugas
Debugas's picture

tactical nuke can solve that problem

this is btw how russians used to solve this type of problems in USSR

 

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 21:01 | 6961859 -.-
-.-'s picture

This year, on June 4, Nechodom resigned amid accusations from federal authorities that his agency stood idly by as oil companies injected their wastewater into hundreds of Central Valley drinking-water wells, violating the very law Chernow and Miller lost their jobs trying to uphold. Fields and orchards in the San Joaquin Valley have also been poisoned, and DOGGR, now led by Steve Bohlen who, with Nechodom, has dined out on the oil-lobby’s dime — is now a defendant in a conspiracy lawsuitbrought by the growers under U.S. racketeering law.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:37 | 6961636 -.-
-.-'s picture

http://sempra.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=19080&item=137102

 

SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Update SoCalGas Commits to Mitigate Environmental Impact of Gas Leak

Dec 18, 2015

LOS ANGELESDec. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SoCalGas today has committed to work with state officials to develop a framework that will help guide the company's efforts to mitigate environmental impacts from the actual natural gas released from the leak at Aliso Canyon. SoCalGas President and CEO Dennis V. Arriola sent a letter to Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown confirming the company's commitment to begin this important work expeditiously – even before the actual amount of the leaked volume is determined. A comprehensive inventory of emissions will be taken after the leak has been stopped.

"SoCalGas recognizes the impact this incident is having on the environment," said Arriola. "I want to assure the public that we intend to mitigate environmental impacts from the actual natural gas released from the leak and will work with state officials to develop a framework that will help us achieve this goal." 

SoCalGas' priority is to stop the leak while supporting the surrounding community and addressing environmental impacts. Other recent developments include:

 

Working to Stop the Leak

  • The relief well has advanced, on-schedule, into the second of five operational phases and could be completed by late-February to late-March. Once completed, SoCalGas will use the relief well to pump fluids and cement into the bottom of the leaking well to permanently seal it. 
  • A second relief well site is being prepared as a backup operation, and drilling is expected to begin in January. 
  • The option to conduct additional efforts to pump fluids directly down the well to stop the flow of gas remains available, and further attempts to do so could be conducted in the coming week.

Reducing the Amount of Natural Gas Escaping from the Leak

  • SoCalGas is withdrawing gas from the storage facility to decrease the pressure pushing gas out through the leak. The company has prioritized the use of gas from Aliso Canyon to supply customer demand and, as a result, is withdrawing natural gas from the field at about double the typical rate for this time of year. 
  • SoCalGas is also working with some of the world's most experienced engineering firms to develop innovative approaches to capturing the gas that is escaping from the leak.

Addressing the Community's Concerns

  • SoCalGas opened its Porter Ranch Community Resource Center Dec. 16 in the Porter Ranch Town Center, 19731 Rinaldi Street, to provide services and information to the community. 
  • SoCalGas recently began providing several options of in-home air filtration to reduce residents' exposure to the odorant, which may produce symptoms in those sensitive to its smell. 
  • The company is also continuing to provide temporary accommodation for those who want to relocate until the leak is stopped.
Thu, 12/24/2015 - 19:45 | 6961656 -.-
-.-'s picture
Media Statement On Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility

Dec 7, 2015

SAN DIEGODec. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) today released the following update on the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility:

On Oct. 23, SoCalGas crews discovered a leak in one of the company's wells at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, located in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.  The Aliso Canyon facility, which has been operated by SoCalGas since 1972, is situated in the Santa Susana Mountains.  The leaking well is more than one mile away and 1,200 feet above the closest homes.  It is one of more than 100 injection and withdrawal wells at the storage facility and is not impacting the company's ability to safely and reliably provide natural gas to its customers, which includes electric generators in the region. 

SoCalGas has been working closely with several of the world's leading experts to stop the leak and determine the best way to cap emissions from the well site, as well as reduce the impact of the odorant that is required to be added to the natural gas for safety purposes. 

On Dec. 4, SoCalGas commenced drilling of a relief well that will be used to intercept the leaking well and stop the leak.  This activity is expected to take three to four months.  SoCalGas continues to withdraw natural gas from the storage facility to serve customers *( >'-)>how nice*.  These withdrawals reduce the overall pressure in the storage facility, which also should reduce the amount of natural gas that is emitted from the impacted well. 

SoCalGas has been providing temporary relocation assistance to some local residents who have been concerned with exposure to the odorant used in the natural gas.

SoCalGas does not believe it is possible at this time to accurately measure the amount of natural gas being lost from the leak.  Once the gas leak is terminated, SoCalGas will conduct a fact-based measurement of natural gas lost from the leak and provide that information to the relevant regulatory bodies. *(?°?°)--???? - - - - - - WTF?)*

At this point, any estimates published in the news media or elsewhere on the potential costs of this incident are premature and purely speculative.  Sempra Energy and SoCalGas are documenting the costs and plan to provide an update in Sempra Energy's Form-10K filing in late February 2016.   

SoCalGas maintains customary third-party insurance for its business activities, including its natural gas storage operations.  The company is working with its insurance carriers on this incident.

SoCalGas' top priority is to safely and expeditiously stop the leak, reduce the amount of natural gas emitting into the environment, and support the impacted customers during this unfortunate situation. The company will continue to work closely with all of the relevant authorities, including California's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, the agency that has regulatory oversight on this incident.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:13 | 6961714 -.-
-.-'s picture

Straight from the "agency that has regulatory oversight..."

 

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog

 

Hot Topics

Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak

A well in a natural gas storage facility in the City of Los Angeles (the Porter Ranch neighborhood) began leaking on October 23. A number of state and local agencies – including the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources – are overseeing efforts by the Southern California Gas Company (SCG) and its contractors to halt the leak. The State Oil & Gas Supervisor on December 10 issued a second emergency order to SCG, expanding on the previous Nov. 18 order, requiring additional testing and well data, daily briefings, and a schedule for identified pathways to seal the well.

SCG has a frequently updated information page about the situation on its web site. Members of the public also can call SCG at (818) 435-7707.

In response to the leak, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued a fact sheet on health and community impacts.  It has helpful basics for concerned people and a list of contact information for local public agencies who can answer questions and help those who are impacted.

See related files here.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:39 | 6961799 -.-
-.-'s picture

 

Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources

Legal Office for the STATE ØIL AND GAS SUPERVISØR

801 K Street, MS 24-03

Sacramento, California 95814-3530

Telephone (916) 323-6733

Facsimile (916) 445-9916 

 

 

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
DIVISION OF OIL, GAS, AND GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES 

 

 

EMERGENCY ORDER TO:
PROVIDE DATA

RE: ALISO CANYON GAS STORAGE FACILITY

 

Emergency Order No. 1104
November 18, 2015
Operator: Southern California Gas Company (S4700)

Aliso Canyon Field
Los Angeles County

BY
Dr. Steven R. Bohlen

STATE OIL AND GAS SUPERVISOR 

 

 

 

IV. Reasons Why Data Requested is Pertinent and Necessary

Operator’s efforts to address the uncontrolled flow of fluids have included various tests and remedial work. However, the efforts have not yet remedied the uncontrolled flow of fluids nor stopped the waste of gas. In addition, Operator has not yet furnished the Division with all information about, and results from, some of the tests and/or remedial work. In order to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prevent damage to life, health, property, or natural resources, the Supervisor needs immediate access to these data to monitor the uncontrolled flow of fluids and current and planned activities to stop the uncontrolled flow of fluids and waste of gas.

V. Data Required from Operator

Based on the facts, and in accord with the legal authorities, described in this Order, the Supervisor has determined that he needs immediate access to the below data to monitor and address the uncontrolled flow of fluids and waste of gas at Operator’s gas storage injection project in the Field. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, pursuant to PRC sections 3013, 3106, 3224, 3226, 3300, and 3403.5, and Regulations sections 1724.6, 1724.7, subdivision (e), and 1724.10, subdivisions (a), (h), and (k), that the Operator:

(A) By 5:00 p.m. Thursday November 19, 2015, provide continuous access to real- time electronic monitoring of wellhead pressures, and, as requested by the Division, plans and results of all diagnostic tests and well logs.

(B) By 5:00 p.m. Thursday November 19, 2015, submit the following information obtained between Friday, October 23, 2015, and Wednesday, November 18, 2015:

1. Down hole videos; 

 

  1. Well Logs, including temperature surveys, acoustic logs, neutron logs,

    cement bond logs, ultra-sonic imager/gamma ray logs, density logs, 

    nuclear fluid density logs;

  2. Pressure Surveys;

  3. Pressure testing of the casings, tubing, and/or packers; and

  4. Spinner Surveys.  

    (C) By 5:00 p.m. Friday November 20, 2015, submit a time schedule identifying when relief well site preparation will be complete and when drilling of relief well will commence.

    Send all data via electronic mail to the Division (Alan Walker and John Geroch) 

    at the following addresses: 

    Alan.Walker@conservation.ca.gov 

    John.Geroch@conservation.ca.gov 

    VII. Court Order and Other Potential Actions to Enforce This Order Failing to comply

    with Section V (Data Required from Operator) of this Order could subject Operator to

    further enforcement action. For example, the Supervisor could deny approval of 

    proposed well operations until compliance is achieved, order the plugging and 

    abandonment of wells, and/or assess a civil penalty. 

      

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:55 | 6961846 -.-
-.-'s picture

Here goes your King of the Dept. of Conservation (CA.gov)...Dr. Steve Bohlen "Getting By"

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/01/jerry-brown-oil-scand...

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:08 | 6961702 CheapBastard
CheapBastard's picture

How about  a map of Kornifornia where the leak is?

 

I'm too lazy to Google it.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:16 | 6961725 -.-
-.-'s picture

Your map, sir:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Porter+Ranch,+Los+Angeles,+CA/@34.2864...!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c284cf4cbdc2b1:0xfe06e18103393310

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 22:08 | 6961997 thebigunit
thebigunit's picture

Oh.

It's only Los Angeles.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 20:19 | 6961738 -.-
-.-'s picture

northern extremity of Los Angeles county, not too far from San Fernando

 

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 14:40 | 6963299 VWAndy
VWAndy's picture

is that the DB Cooper that ows me lunch. If so Merry Chritsmas ya rebel.

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 21:18 | 6961901 wisebastard
wisebastard's picture

lenny bruce is fuckig scared shitless now faggots

Thu, 12/24/2015 - 22:07 | 6961995 Chris Dakota
Thu, 12/24/2015 - 22:10 | 6962003 thebigunit
thebigunit's picture

FEAR! FEAR! FEAR!

THIS IS PROBABLY WORSE THAN GLOBAL WARMING!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!

RUN FOR YOU LIVES!!!!!!!

 

 

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 01:14 | 6962338 roddy6667
roddy6667's picture

Wait until somebody flies a drone with electric motors through the plume. Kafuckingboom.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 01:49 | 6962387 uhland62
uhland62's picture

There's a big eternal fire like that in the former Soviet Union, I think Turkmenistan now.

In the long run, mankind will need to learn to extract CO2 and methane from the air. What's pumped out is now so massive that oxygen content in the air will reduce further. It sounds crazy but a method needs to be found to syphon these gases out. 

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 21:30 | 6963944 thebigunit
thebigunit's picture

Well...

mankind will need to learn to extract CO2 and methane from the air.

Where are you going to put it?

Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the cosmos.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 07:57 | 6962636 One of these is...
One of these is not like the others..'s picture

The new fangled brushless motors have no commutator or slip-rings, so, "kablooey" is unlikely.

You could always add something to make sparks I suppose...

 

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 04:36 | 6962492 Jus7tme
Jus7tme's picture

Best explanation I have seen so far of what is the failure that is causing the leak. MSM does not have anywhere near this level of detail. I cant guarantee that the explanation is correct, but the level of detail is good.

http://www.laweekly.com/news/what-went-wrong-at-porter-ranch-6405804

The infographic imported into the ZH article is misleading to the extreme. The leak is due to a hole in the inner pipe at a depth of only 470ft from the surface. The natgas then fills the outer pipe (casing), and  escapes into the rock formation at a depth of 990ft, because the outer casing ENDS at that depth. It is not the reservoir itself  that is "leaking" some 9000ft below the surface. What is leaking is the pipe near the surface, not the reservoir itself.

The reason for drilling the misnamed "relief well" all the way down to the reservoir is because it is seen as the only method to plug the pipe at the source. Should there not be a controllable valve at that depth, to block flow from reservoir into the pipe, you might ask? Yes, indeed. There was a valve at 8451ft  from 1956 to 1979, but after the valve was inspected in 1976, it was then removed in 1979 due to old age, AND NOT REPLACED.

THAT is the problem, and THAT is the reason for having to drill down to 9000ft to insert a concrete plug at the source.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 08:05 | 6962648 nscholten
nscholten's picture

I don;t really give a shit what explanation of the fix might be.  Here is just another example of corporations destroying the planat and we the citizens will be the ones paying for it i.e. carbon tax, bail out , whatever.  And this is a lot worse than fucking carbon that plants need.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 02:30 | 6964551 Hope Copy
Hope Copy's picture

can't cure stupid, but you can sue those named on the signoff and the insurance company.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 08:02 | 6962641 nscholten
nscholten's picture

There.  GLOBAL WARMING

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 09:15 | 6962709 God
God's picture

I'd love to see california blown up. That would be an awesome use of the God given natural resources.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 09:51 | 6962755 Chia-Pet
Chia-Pet's picture

Glad I bought a shitload of UNG

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 10:32 | 6962812 Ginsengbull
Ginsengbull's picture

Russia solved a similar gas leak by drilling a parallel shaft, and iserting a small thermonuclear device.

 

Explosive pressure stops flow, and melting rock seals the well.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 11:36 | 6962854 dizzyfingers
dizzyfingers's picture

Anyone know how/when/where the mercaptan is added?

There was a break in the nat-gas line near our house. We happened to drive by it before the emergency folks got there; we could hear the gas big time, but couldn't actually "see" it, other than a pronounced disturbance in the air above the leak. It looked like a swirl of air, or a very small tornado rotating in a space near the edge of the road. Definitely no odor.

 

Never mind about nmercaptan... I found the answer.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 11:28 | 6962903 SystemOfaDrown
SystemOfaDrown's picture

Oh goody! A new "catastrophe" for main stream media to feed the masses with. Just in time to divert people away from horrible under performing Holiday Sales numbers [real indicator of our economic state] that are going to be reported in coming few weeks.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 11:40 | 6962905 Mudbug
Mudbug's picture

I sifted through the first 10 pages of google returns on this, and technical info is impossible to find in all the global swindling "news" stories. One fact: the cement shoe around a 7" casing is allowing the gas to flow outside the wellbore. All the crap about how long a relief well would take is, crap. Only conclusion I can see - there's more to this blowout than is being reported.

 

EDITED to add: Jus7tme has a decent LATimes link with more downhole details, but I still question the numbers of "no inspection of the SSSV since '76, and removal of same". The feds never allow that to happen, no matter the level of pay-offs or whatever. The graphic in the article also misses what is called "inflatable packers" which were used back in the 50s. Something is rotten in this part of Denmark, without question.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 12:21 | 6962999 sgorem
sgorem's picture

who in the hell needs imported terrorists when you've got your local GAS, WATER, ELECTRIC, AND LOCAL INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENTS terrorizing the population? 

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 12:11 | 6962984 henry chucho
henry chucho's picture

My New Years prediction is that the Golden Gate Bridge will have been built,in less than half the time that it takes to plug Kali's Asshole Canyon methane leak..

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 12:34 | 6963043 theallseeinggod
theallseeinggod's picture

So this leak isn't covered in the msm? not surprising considering the us gov just passed a bill to export oil abroad to further push down prices. We don't want any kind of accident that would lower the oil and gas output and put the prices up, do we?

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 14:24 | 6963259 Ocean22
Ocean22's picture

Nothing good or important is EVER covered in msm. Ummm, wonder why?

Did you hear about this kind of important fact?

https://theyoungearth.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/t-rex-soft-tissue-find-of...

and it's staggering implications in msm? Nope.

But you should have....

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 18:33 | 6963637 theallseeinggod
theallseeinggod's picture

dinosaur tissue was found before. from what I know, dna doesn't survive for very long, even if the tissue isn't fossilised

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 13:23 | 6963143 koan
koan's picture

Maybe that's what caused the "warm spot" off the coast leading to the drought.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 14:18 | 6963245 Obamananke
Obamananke's picture

My brother in law lives in Porter Ranch. Gas company is moving him to a home that costs 17,000$ a month to rent. I am thinking gas bills will be going up soon for all.

Fri, 12/25/2015 - 15:16 | 6963346 DosZap
DosZap's picture

BTW, what does God say in the bible about what happens to 'Christians' who defile his planet?

Revelation 11:18 “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

 

If you could correctly interpret this it might help the hate.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 10:01 | 6964834 FeedTheHogs
FeedTheHogs's picture

This is largely a scare story. If one doubled the amount of methane in the earth's atmosphere, it would potentially raise temperatures by 0.008 °C. There's no way this well is going to do anything like that. The main problem is the waste of a resource.

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