Encana Corp. emergency teams on Wednesday had a plan in place to regain control of a damaged wellhead at a natural gas site in the Duvernay formation following a blowout Monday afternoon.

A well licensed for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) was damaged on a well pad in a remote area in northern Alberta about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of Fox Creek in the Kaybob North Field region (see Shale Daily, Sept. 22).

Since then, “our teams have conducted a detailed assessment, deploying a drone aircraft and specialized teams to undertake a visual inspection,” said spokesman Jay Averill. “The information gathered through these efforts has enabled the team to develop a plan to regain control of the damaged wellhead.”

Encana has “mobilized the equipment and resources required and are constructing a second entrance to the well pad, enabling more efficient access to the site.” Now the focus is to prepare the site “to ensure our teams have the space they need to safely access the wellhead.”

The top priority continues to be the safety of the responders, said Averill.

“Air monitoring to date has shown H2S concentrations are significantly below those that would pose a risk to human health,” he said. “We will continue to closely monitor air quality until we regain control over the well.”