Lake Twp. gas well progresses

STEVE MOCARSKY

smocarsky@timesleader.com

LAKE TWP. – Completion operations on a natural gas well, a component of which is the controversial hydraulic fracturing process, will begin today for the first time in Luzerne County.

Encana Oil & Gas has drilled two exploratory wells in the county since the summer, and crews on Tuesday were performing the final preparations for the completions stage of well drilling at the well site off Zosh Road on property owned by Amy and Paul Salansky.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting large quantities of water, in addition to sand and chemicals, into underground shale formations to release natural gas trapped within.

The practice has created controversy because opponents say the chemicals injected into gas wells and radioactive and heavy metals released from underground can cause ground and surface water contamination.

Gas company officials and state representatives say there is no evidence to prove that theory.

Wendy Wiedenbeck, public and community relations adviser for Encana, said last week that the company was in the process of placing 20 tanks at the location to store approximately 400,000 gallons of water used in the fracking process.

Wiedenbeck said residents in the area could expect to see the water holding tanks being moved on and off location, fresh water trucks delivering water to the location, the arrival of a completions crew and trucks transporting flowback water from location. She said the company would work closely with vendors to enforce a traffic management plan.

A visit to the site on Tuesday revealed crews had attached a configuration of pipes and valves to the temporary well head for the fracking process, which Wiedenbeck said could take two to five weeks to complete.

The Salansky well is the second exploratory well drilled by Encana in Luzerne County.

Economist William H. Kent, of Benton, who last week addressed attendees at a meeting in Lake Township about the economic potential of Marcellus Shale development, said Encana has chosen to frack the Salansky well first because the shale beneath it is relatively flat, making it easier and cheaper to frack than the sloped shale beneath Encana’s first exploratory well. That well is located off Route 118 near Ricketts Glen State Park on property owned by Edward Buda.

Landowners who signed mineral rights leases with Encana should know by the end of the year whether the Salansky well will be a successful producer of natural gas.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.