47-079-00748
Well drilled in 1968
Producing formation(s): Newburg
Geographic location: latitude 38.489684, longitude -81.733989
Visited in 2013
This well is west of the cluster of wells we visited in 2012 near Camp Virgil Tate in Kanawha county. It's an older vertical well set within a heavily overgrown site. In spite of the vegetation, the cut slope and part of the pad were heavily eroded. Sediment had flowed into an area we call the "basin" where the wellhead sits.
The wellhead was partially buried in sediment. The two handwheels are attached to a cross pipe below the casing head. The sediment is well over a foot deep here. The casing head could actually have been several feet above the original ground surface. A similar vintage Newburg well gives an idea of the wellhead configuration.
It had rained shortly before our visit. Standing water on the casing head was bubbling in several spots. The bubbles in the 10 o'clock position are readily visible. There are more bubbles in the 6 o'clock position.
Close to the wellhead stands a tall separator. We had seen a separator like this at a similar vintage but different operator's well in the Kanawha State Forest in 2011.
Between the wellhead and the separator the operator had placed the API number on a stand. The number has the last group of digits and does not include county or state digits.
The tank was set apart from the separator and wellhead in the basin. The 100 barrel steel tank was sitting in secondary containment but it wasn't possible because of the overgrown condition of the site to verify that the containment was intact and adequate.
Part of the pad was severely eroded with deep rills. Pieces of cast off plumbing parts for the well had been exposed.
The well access road goes up to a pipeline road. The road was overgrown.
We approached the well from the woods and didn't attempt to determine the condition of the road. Other roads in the area had fallen trees blocking ATV access.
Gas Well Site Visits
Examining Well Sites
How We Examined Well Sites
Environmental Assessment
Table with Links to Wells Visited
47-039-05714 Environmental Assessment
47-079-01492 Environmental Assessment
47-039-02026 Environmental Assessment
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Plugging a Well
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Casing and Cementing