My Chesapeake Energy Neighbor Put Up A Fence Before Pumping Corrosive Wet Gas

Two weeks ago  tomorrow, that being Thanksgiving morning, I blogged at blogging titled A Thanksgiving Morning Gas Pipeline Warning From Chesapeake Energy about being sort of appalled that a newly installed Chesapeake gasworks in my neighborhood was totally unsecured by any sort of fencing, wall or guard.

Yesterday (or was it the day before?) I noticed a lot of activity around the aforementioned gasworks. And now, as you can see in the picture, a fence surrounds this particular gasworks, with an angled row of barbed wire at the top.

This particular unwanted neighbor seems slightly more safe now.

But.

I finally got around to reading last week's cover article in Fort Worth Weekly, titled What Runs Beneath: More than 700 miles of pipelines carrying corrosive gas run under Fort Worth — but no one’s sure exactly where.

You want a really good example of why Fort Worth's Watchdog, Don Young, calls Fort Worth "Dirty Ol' Town" this article will provide it to you.

I was appalled to learn that this incompetently run backwater of a mismanaged town is so inept it has allowed hundreds upon hundreds of miles of natural gas pipeline to be laid underground with no record made of location, shut off valves, flow direction.

Nothing.

And then to learn, via FW Weekly, that the gas that will flow from my neighborhood Chesapeake Energy gas wells is what is known as "Wet Gas", as in gas that still has fracking liquid mixed in, with no odor added to make a leak detectable, well, I was even more appalled.

Apparently "Wet Gas" is very corrosive. Eventually pipes carrying this gas will rupture, with a potential big boom.

If, or when, Fort Worth gets its big natural gas boom, not in the form of illusive royalties, but in the form of a massive, deadly explosion, in the resulting lawsuits, when it comes out how negligent the city was regarding all the holes poked in its town and all the miles of pipeline laid underground, well, the town may be forced to sell itself to the highest bidder to pay off the enormous damage claims.

I really think Aubrey McClendon should be banned from bidding, all things considered.

Natural Gas Pipeline Exploded In Hood, Johnson, Or Maybe, Somervell County

A little before 4, this afternoon, Elsie Hotpepper called to tell me there had been a natural gas explosion. Elsie did not know if it was a well or a pipeline or what.

I quickly checked and saw it was a pipeline. In Johnson County. By Cleburne.

Elsie hung up and within a minute the Queen of Wink called to ask me if I'd felt the explosion.

Talking to the Queen postponed looking for information about the explosion.

Hours later it is still confusing. I've seen (and heard on TV) the location of the BIG BOOM being Johnson County, Hood County or the border of Hood County and Somervell County.

I've read and heard the explosion was near Cleburne. Or south of Granbury. Or near Pecan Plantation, next to Highway 67 or along County Road 1120, on Georges Creek Ranch.

I suppose, technically, all could be true, except for, maybe, the county confusions. I mean, one could say the explosion was near Fort Worth, which would be true, but not as accurate as one could be.

But there are also contradictions about the number killed, missing and injured. As few as 1 killed. As many as 3 killed. The number injured and missing varies too. I suppose that is understandable. When a big bomb explodes it isn't going to be easy to find all the victims.

My favorite commenter, the Ubiquitous Anonymous commented on the previous blogging about the explosion. It was such a good comment I thought I'd repeat it below...

This catastrophe was covered by the three major networks' evening news, CNN, and yahoo news. This pipeline is about twice as large as the one proposed for Carter Ave. residents, but the rural residences are nowhere as close to the pipeline or as tightly packed together either. So if such an awful thing were to happen on Carter St., even with just a 16-inch pipeline (remember CHK originally wanted to place 24-inch size and HELD FAST ON RUNNING AS MANY LINES AS POSSIBLE under those little yards), the likely results include obliterated--as in cremated bodies, so no need for autopsies--bodies and homes where the explosion/s occur with related damages from flying building materials/concrete and re-bar from the city streets and spreading fires NOT ONLY FROM THE EXPLODED PIPELINE but from the grid of smaller utility gas lines connected to the whole neighborhood and the nearby electrical lines. Of course, there will be exploded water and sewer (eeew!) lines spewing forth their contents. Traffic for the north central Texas area could come to a standstill as the nearby I-30 is within that "kill zone" and the I-35W mixmaster is just 1&1/2 mile away. The good part is that even people in the mid-cities and possibly nearby counties can see the drama by just looking since Carter St. is located on top of one of the highest geographical locations in FW. Note how first- responders could do very little since they lacked training and plus the heat makes it impossible to get anywhere close, unless some major fire suits are available.