Unstoppable California Gas Leak

LockH

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Ummm.. Started out in Victoria BC Canada, then sta
Being Called Worst Catastrophe Since BP Spill. Seen here:
http://theantimedia.org/unstoppable...eing-called-worst-catastrophe-since-bp-spill/

In part:
Porter Ranch, CA — 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.

:cry:
 
It will be impressive if they succeed in drilling to intercept that 7" pipe 8000ft underground!
 
Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer state. Bless their heart.
 
Posted on the morning of Dec.24:
[youtube]exfJ8VPQDTY[/youtube]
At this writing, almost 70,000 metric tons of methane has leaked from the SoCal Gas's well, with an effect on the climate equivalent to the total annual pollution from al of California's oil refineries.
 
MrDude_1 said:
Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer state. Bless their heart.
Where else can you do your Christmas shopping at the Antimall? :lol:
http://thelab.com/
The idea yet to become mainstream for over 20 years. 8)
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/magazine/the-anti-mall.html
Plenty of bike parking and a bike repair guy in a trailer in the parking lot. :mrgreen:
https://foursquare.com/v/the-lab-antimall/49d8faeff964a520e45d1fe3
Far enough away from the methane leak to not notice the explosion from the un-volcano when it happens. :twisted:
 
Hehe... Written on ES back in November, 2013:
The "UNnatural gas index"! (Or UG, for short.) Currently, on a Google (TM) search for the phrase ("unnatural gas" with "-natural" added to the search)

About 577,000 results (0.27 seconds)

Today, right now? UG stands at "About 739,000 results (0.42 seconds)". (Where can one buy shares!)

Fun to read about the Antimall. (NY Times writer described as "He is over 25." :)

Read somewhere else that this Porter Ranch leak "The effect of the leak on the state's greenhouse-gas emissions is comparable to adding 7 million cars to the road, says Timothy O'Connor, director of the Environmental Defense Fund's oil and gas program in California."
 
Right next to a town, and perhaps active rigs unless thats a recovery rig. They have the tools to intercept the line, will cost them a pretty dime or billions of "pretty dimes".

I wonder how their disaster recovery plan is holding up, and what kind of fines will be placed.
My bet, very minimal fines.....another "Let them slide" moment brought to you by; non other then YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!
 
Oil, gas, and electric utilities fines= just another CODB. :roll: They'll easily convince the PUC to add a new tax to your bill to pay for it over time. When it's finally paid for they will "forget" to stop the automatic cash cow because by then they will have some excuse as to why they need to keep milking it ad infinitum/ad nauseum. :twisted:
Reminds me of the bridge over the harbor they built in the 60's. The 50 cent tolls over the years finally paid it off, and just as soon as they declared it toll free they came up with an excuse to build a new bridge with bike lanes that nobody will use because it is too steep and long of a hill for anyone but a pro cyclist to navigate over. (Or someone with a motor and a big 'ol battery). :lol:
 
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/2...-finds-underground-location-leaking-well.html :twisted:
The location of an underground well pipe that has been leaking methane gas in a Los Angeles neighborhood has been pinpointed, Southern California Gas Co. officials said Sunday.
The utility company said it had drilled down about 3,800 feet when it found the breached well’s 7-inch pipe with a magnetic ranging tool that allows workers on the surface to locate small underground targets. They are drilling a relief well nearby that they will eventually connect to the leaking well so they can plug it with cement. The leak has forced thousands of people to leave their homes.
"One of the challenges in drilling this relief well is to find a 7-inch pipe from about 1,500 feet away, several thousands of feet below ground - while avoiding others nearby," Southern California Gas Co. said in a statement issued Monday. There are more than 100 such wells in the area.
Workers still aren't sure exactly where the 8,700-foot well was breached but suspect it was relatively close to the surface.
"We think it's probably leaking above the thousand-foot level," Gas Co. spokeswoman Melissa Bailey said Monday.
She added utility workers will continue to drill to the well's bottom, where they'll plug it. That work could take until March.
Methane gas has been leaking since Oct. 23 in the Porter Ranch community and thousands of people have reported feeling nauseous and getting nosebleeds, among other symptoms from the gas.
Last week, the Environmental Defense Fund released a video showing the gas spewing from the leak in Aliso Canyon. The giant plumes were made visible by a special infrared camera operated by an Earthworks ITC-certified thermographer, according to the group. More than 150 million pounds of methane is pouring into the air and the end isn’t close.
“It’s one of the biggest leaks we’ve ever seen reported,” Tim O’Connor, the California climate director for the Environment Defense Fund, told The Washington Post. “It is coming out with force, in incredible volumes. And it is absolutely uncontained.”
The Los Angeles Unified School District already agreed to relocate nearly 1,900 students from schools near the leak, citing disruption from absenteeism and several visits to the health office. The move is set to take place over winter break and could last until June.
The gas company is also paying to relocate those who say they are being sickened. Company spokeswoman Anne Silva said, the utility has placed 2,258 families in temporary housing, while 111 others staying with family or friends are being compensated. More than 3,000 others are in the process of being relocated.
The leak has also struck a blow in the California’s plans to reduce emissions. Environmental experts told The Washington Post the Aliso Canyon leak has become the biggest single source of methane emissions in the entire state.
Porter Ranch is a bucolic community of large, stately homes in the foothills of the north San Fernando Valley. It is home to about 30,000 people and includes parks and hiking trails.
The gas is coming from an underground storage area more than 8,000 feet deep that can hold as much as 86 billion cubic feet.
 
And it was "breached" because? (Guess poor design and/or cheap construction.) If 1000-ish feet down, not likely hit by a heavy vehicle...
 
Punx0r said:
Maybe the ground shifted. Maybe it's 40+ years old and the corrosion protection failed.

OH. Good points! Nope. Cali nEVer has any earthquakes... Nope. :roll:
 
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/12/socal_gas_company_porter_ranch_gas_leak_corrosion_failing.php

In part:
Now the LA Daily News has uncovered a document that the gas company filed with a state regulatory board in November 2014 showing that they knew that, with regards to a leak or similarly hazardous situation, it was probably a matter of when, not if. In the filing, the company explains that its pipes had been having issues with corrosion and were only getting worse. The gas company voiced concern about its system for inspections, and also proposed a rate hike to help fund more proactive inspections.

(sigh)
 
Meanwhile, the leak rages on at the Aliso Canyon facility, where it's pushed 2,500 families to relocate and sent 1,200 tons of methane into the air every single day. The chemical added to the naturally odorless methane to give it a smell (rotten eggs), which makes leaks easier to find, has also given residents headaches and nausea.
...how do they add chemical doors to a leaking gas well ??
..and how are they avoiding this thing igniting from some random source...lightning etc ??
 
In a recent KNX News Radio interview with a Gas Company spokeswoman, she said they could not guarantee that their efforts to stop the leak would be successful, but only that they were confident that they could stop it. :|
 
The odour (probably ethyl mercaptan) would have been added to the gas before it was pumped into the storage. There might be a fire risk, but it sounds like the gas is diffusing through and out of the soil over a wide area, but so the concentration might be too low to support combustion.
 
Punx0r said:
The odour (probably ethyl mercaptan) ...... it sounds like the gas is diffusing through and out of the soil over a wide area, but so the concentration might be too low to support combustion.
Hmm, ? Doesn't look like a diffused leak on that Video Lockh posted on the 27th above.!
Looks much like an uncapped well ready to flare off . :eek:
 
Much prettier in colour (infrared)
[youtube]UaxXNglbRx4[/youtube]
:cry:
 
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/06/us/california-porter-ranch-gas-leak-emergency/index.htmlAfter three months, Gerry Browne finally wakes up from his ozone-induced stupor. :roll:
(CNN)California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Wednesday over a major gas leak in the Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch.
The leak was discovered at a storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains in late October. Southern California Gas Company has not been able to stop it yet.
"Today's proclamation builds on months of regulatory and oversight actions from seven state agencies mobilized to protect public health, oversee Southern California Gas Company's actions to stop the leak, track methane emissions, ensure worker safety, safeguard energy reliability and address any other problems stemming from the leak," read a statement from Brown's office.
The governor toured the facility and met with residents earlier this week. Many are upset.
The leak has forced people from their homes and students from area schools.
Yitz Dekel spoke to CNN last month outside his his temporary home, a residential hotel in Calabasas, California.
"In a way, without fire and brimstone, this is a natural disaster," he said. "A technological failure and natural disaster."
It estimated it should be able to stop the leak between late February and late March.
"Our focus remains on quickly and safely stopping the leak and minimizing the impact to our neighbors in Porter Ranch," said President and CEO Dennis Arriola.
"SoCalGas reaffirms our prior commitment to mitigate the environmental impact of the actual amount of natural gas released from the leak. We look forward to working with state officials to develop a framework that will achieve this goal."

Health concerns
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the leak is having health effects in some people.
"Exposures to these chemicals are generally not expected to lead to permanent or long-term health problems. However, short-term, recurrent symptoms may occur with these exposures as long as the odors persist, and some individuals may be more sensitive than others," it said in a fact sheet.
When the Health Department held a community meeting in Porter Ranch on exposure to methane and mercaptans (the foul-smelling odorants added to natural gas), officials said nausea, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath and headaches are among the health complaints "consistent with inhalation exposure to mercaptans."
Dekel complained of "inexplicable fatigue." He said his wife experienced some dizziness.
"And my neighbors, some in ill health, had major coughing and irritation in the eyes and throat. Some had nose bleeding," he said.

Company response
SoCalGas says it's working as quickly and safely as it can to stop the leak.
In the meantime, the company said that as of late December more than 2,290 households have accepted relocation and that it was working with 3,660 of them in various stages of finalizing agreements.
 
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Ah, Upravdum speaks. We all know Gas Company cares more about Comrade Brown cult of personality than about all money they lose while struggle to figure out problem. Obviously will be instant action. If not, Fearless Leader send Boris. Gas company obviously Moose and Squirrel.

giphy-facebook_s.jpg
 
Hehe... Learned a new phrase... Marketing-speak "residential hotel". :wink:
 
LockH said:
Hehe... Learned a new phrase... Marketing-speak "residential hotel". :wink:
There are a couple of nice Residence Inn by Marriot near here. My cousin and her husband, a Boeing executive, lived in one for a couple of years before buying a home when they were re-locating to Southern California from Saint Louis a few years back.
 
Hehe... Once, on a move to Halifax, lived in a hotel (motel) for six months... waiting for another tenant to move (another naval officer being transferred) out of a house we had first moved into already when it was new, then moved out of. (Crazy times being a "Navy brat".) :)

(Note to self: Now gotta check to see whether property values up/down in/around Porter Ranch area. Unnatural gas company gonna pay for drop in values there too?)
 
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