EOG Resources, which had been ordered to suspend all of its natural gas well drilling activities in Pennsylvania in the wake of a June 3 blowout at a company well in Clearfield County, PA, has been given a green light to resume hydraulic fracturing activities in the state.

The company was notified during a Friday morning meeting with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Hanger Friday, according to DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun.

“They do not yet have permission to resume well completion activities,” Rathbun told NGI. “Our investigation is continuing and we’re hoping to have a final report out within two weeks.”

The well Punxsutawney Hunt Club #36H “experienced a control issue” at about 8 a.m. EDT June 3, according to EOG. There were no injuries, no fire and no significant impact to the environment as a result of the incident, EOG said. A preliminary DEP investigation determined that a blowout preventer (BOP) on the well failed, but the agency does not know if that failure was the main cause of the incident. EOG said it appears that the seal integrity between the pipe rams of the BOP and the tubing was compromised, allowing pressurized fluids and some natural gas to flow.

The Pennsylvania order issued June 7 had prohibited EOG from drilling activities for up to seven days, from engaging in hydraulic fracturing operations for up to 14 days and from completing or initiating post-fracing operations for 30 days in any wells in the state, but none of the activities were to resume until DEP completed a comprehensive investigation of the incident and EOG had implemented any required changes (see NGI, June 14).

Earlier this month DEP told EOG it could resume work at two wells determined to have no environmental or operational violations.

EOG operates approximately 265 active wells in Pennsylvania, 117 of them in the Marcellus Shale formation.

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