Blowout kills man, critically injures another at Haynesville Shale gas well

A natural gas well blowout on Wednesday had deadly consequences with one man killed and another critically injured. More minor injuries were reported, including firefighters who suffered respiratory problems during a rescue. And 15 families remained displaced from their homes late Wednesday.

It could be sometime before the wayward well on George Hunt Road is brought under control. Chesapeake Energy Corp. said work would begin at first light, but the company could not offer a definite time frame for repairs to its Sumner 25H-1 well.

The fatality is the second this year for a Chesapeake Energy contractor and the third since exploration of the Haynesville Shale natural gas formation in northwest Louisiana began in earnest last year.At least a half-dozen other men have been seriously injured while working on rigs in the region. In May, more than 30 people were forced from their homes in Naborton for 48 hours when a Chesapeake Energy well began spewing natural gas into the air.

The blowouts that happen during well completions are among risks of the Haynesville Shale's highly pressurized wells, Chesapeake Energy geosciences manager John L. Sharp told Mansfield Rotary Club members during an unrelated meeting at noon Wednesday.

Exactly what caused the deadly blowout about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday is under investigation. What is known is that a six-man crew was doing routine maintenance on the producing well. At one point, onlookers reported the plume of gas mixed with frac sand appeared to reach 1,000 ft into the air.