OWNER OF WELL NEAR BURTON SAYS NO OIL LEAK AFTER PRESSURE SURGE

  

A pressure surge at a well northwest of Burton prompted an emergency response Tuesday night, but the owner of the well says there is no cause for concern.

Mineral Technologies, Inc. (MTI) President Carter Copeland said the company’s well near Sandtown Road and Young Lane, off of FM 1697, had a momentary venting incident to a tank shortly after 8 p.m.  According to Copeland, responding entities included Washington County emergency management, local firefighters and Apache Corporation.

Copeland said the safety release valve for the well performed as intended, no oil discharged, and the well is producing as normal.  He said some natural gas did leak into the air, but stated that is not uncommon in scenarios such as these.

Copeland added that while this would not be a reportable event to the Railroad Commission of Texas, since there was no discharge of fluids into the environment, he would be willing to inform them of this occurrence.

The well suffered a blowout in July due to fracking operations at a neighboring well owned by Apache.  Copeland said he understands the concerns of local residents after that incident, and noted that the company is in the process of adding to its safety equipment at the site.  He hopes that as fracking operations pick back up in the area over the next month, the company can work with Apache to hold meetings to provide citizens information and give them an opportunity to ask questions.