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Permalink Reply by Randy Peterson on December 10, 2013 at 5:52

They have a wonderfull new invention that will correct this problem. It's called a knockout drum. City water companies use it. Flow from the well goes to the knockout drum. Water goes out the bottom; gas goes out the top.No problem.

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Permalink Reply by George Christopher Henson on December 10, 2013 at 7:35

We call that a 'gunbarrel'. Helps recover some oil the separator missed in the saltwater, as well as de-gas it before pumping to the disposal well.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on December 11, 2013 at 1:49

Hey Guys,

There are gas seeps all over the place. I probably have two on my property that have not been active for ages.

I was told by a guy on a seismic crew, that shot across my property, that he had to go back and plug a shot hole that was burning in a cane field. So NG in a water well should be expected if you are in the right place and near an active fault that would allow gas to leak from a deep formation to the surface. 

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Permalink Reply by Royal Tyler on December 11, 2013 at 12:51

The seepage of natural gas has been common in much of North Caddo for years. When we drilled looking for water for our house about 8 years ago we had a water well blow out and gas blew off for a while before the driller got a company to come in and plug it. This was only at about 115 feet. 

 I asked around and many of the people up here have that issue. Noone seems to know for sure if it is natural faults or the old oil wells causing the problem, but it has been here as long as deep water wells have been here.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on December 22, 2013 at 3:45

Possible methane found in couple’s water - 12/22/13 - shreveporttimes.com

By Michele Marcotte


A Dixie family made a shocking discovery over the Thanksgiving holiday.

After months of water blowouts and family health problems, John and Josephine Parker learned methane gas may be in their well water. Preliminary test results show the gas is there but not because of nearby oil and gas drilling as the couple suspected.

The form of methane found in the well indi­cates it’s a naturally occurring gas, said Patrick Courreges, communications director for Loui­siana’s Department of Natural Resources.

“We’re looking at if (the couple’s water) well is in a strand where there is some lignite in the sands,” Courreges said. “ If (the well) is pulling a little harder on the aquifer there, it may have begun to draw some of the methane.”

Final results are expected next week but could be delayed because of Christmas, he said.

The couple made the discovery the day after Thanksgiving when their daughter, Susan Parker, conducted a test — putting a flame next to water to see if it ignited. Susan Parker said

she had seen the test done on other homes near oil and gas drilling wells and decided to try it. She conducted the same test at her brother’s home — which draws from the same water well — and it yielded the same results.

Both homes have switched to the Bel-Di-Gil community water system, but the Parkers are uncertain of the long-term effects of having used methane water for an unknown period of time, particularly in light of fainting spells and headaches their granddaughter Meaghan had while on the well.

Josephine Parker said she’s uncertain what the cause is but is curious whether it’s related to Anadarko Petroleum, which began drilling roughly a half-mile from her home in February.

“It just seems funny to me that since they started drilling, all of this has taken place,” she said.

Anadarko, after learning of the couple’s concern, sent an independent agency to test the water well, spokesman John Christiansen said. The Austin, Texas-based agency was tasked with determining if methane was in the water and whether it was naturally occurring or related to operations.

DNR observed those tests that led to the preliminary results showing methane in the water derived from a natural process and was not associated with drilling operations, Courreges said. “The occurrence of lignite within and immediately above the screened interval in Mr. Parker’s well offers a ready source of organic material that can generate and release large volumes of biogenic methane,” the results state. Christiansen said the company has not received any other complaints in northwest Louisiana. Roland Tolett, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said aquifers often have organic materials that release methane as they decay. This type of methane tends to have a lighter signature of isotopes than methane associated with fracking, he said. Northwest Louisiana shale deposits are in the tens of thousands of feet while aquifers are hundreds of feet. So for methane to travel from fracking to an aquifer, there has to be a pathway, Tolett said. He said there are instances of that occurring, but it’s not as common here as in other areas where fracking has been going on for longer. But there are prior incidents related to naturally occurring methane. Three wells between Gilliam and Vivian were found to have naturally occurring methane in 2002, Courreges said. The Department of Environmental Quality recommended well users put a vent on their water well systems to release any buildup of methane.

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Permalink Reply by William C. Morrison on January 6, 2014 at 6:37

Not new.  I can recall some 50 years ago somebody telling the story of lighting the water tap. I think it was around Jennings, LA.

Of course, we have the now famous EPA gaffe here in Parker County in the midst of the Barnett Shale field.  A couple complained to the EPA that there was gas in their water from their water well and that it was from the near by gas well.  EPA immediately put a ban on drilling.

Then it came out that the couple had hooked up a water hose from their natural gas at the house and hooked it up to the water well.  Then they got a EPA guy out and lit the water for him.  The Texas folks debunked that problem immediately and the EPA retracted their ban.  The well developer sued the homeowner for defamation.

Fact is that there has been gas seepage in and around Parker County for years.  It is well known and well documented.  Shallow gas wells are all over the place, been there for years.  People knew about the shale gas too, it just took somebody how to figure out how to frack it and get it out of the formation.

Now the big issue is earthquakes.  We have had a batch of them.  Locals blame it all on ejection wells.  USGS folks are setting up seismic stations.  So far have figure it is all coming from one location.  No comment yet on the depth the problem.  It could be a couple of miles below the gas.  I am sure the locals ain't never gonna agree that it is something other that the gas wells and the ejection wells near them.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Aldridge on January 6, 2014 at 6:59

Chip,

You are correct. The earth is always moving. But that does not matter to people who want to blame someone. That's the world we live in today. 

Hope everything is going well with you in this New Year.

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Permalink Reply by William C. Morrison on January 6, 2014 at 7:56

Hello Joe.  Happy New Year to you and yours.  We will see how TMS treats us.  If they get a nice well in West Feliciana, things might pick up on the "Coast of Pointe Coupee."  Otherwise, not much is happening.

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Permalink Reply by GoRicky on January 6, 2014 at 9:43

I SAW GAS LIT IN A SINK AT A PLACE THAT WAS MILES AWAY FROM ANY TYPE OF ATTEMPT AT PRODUCING O & G.  I MEAN EVEN DRY HOLES - MILES AWAY.  A LOCAL WATER-WELL DRILLER TOLD ME IT WAS FROM VERY THIN LIGNITE BEDS THAT EXIST IN THE FRESH WATER AQUIFERS.

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