WEST UNION, W.Va. — After a fire was put out at a natural gas well in Doddridge County, four of the company’s wells remained idle Friday while an investigation is conducted.
Emergency crews responded to the scene at Antero Resources R.J. Smith well pad near West Union at around 5 a.m. Thursday morning.
The fire was put out within two hours, no injuries were reported and no contamination of the surrounding area was detected.
Malfunctioning equipment caused gas to escape and then ignited on equipment, according to initial investigations.
In order to conduct a full investigation of the pad, the state DEP issued a “cease-operations order” regarding four well located there.
It’s not clear if there will be any violations as the DEP will continue to investigate the site to determine if any contaminants escaped and will require the company to make appropriate repairs once the cause for malfunction is determined.
Antero is reported to be fully cooperating with the state agency.