Announcement

**Pathfinder** · July 11, 2012, 03:14 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou Bubbling

http://www.flickr.com/photos/assumpt...7630330363084/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/assumpt...7630330363084/

Efforts intensify to find gas leaks in Assumption waterways

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL

River Parishes bureau
July 10, 2012
...
Joseph ?Joe? Ball Jr., director of DNR?s Injection and Mining Division, said a prior gas leak that sparked a two-month evacuation of residents in the vicinity starting in late 2003 was from a source authorities knew about, a salt dome cavern that leaked the gas.

?This is totally different. There is no known source right now, so it?s going to be a process of elimination of looking at possible sources, and that?s what we?re working on right now,? ...
Ball noted the underground salt dome caverns inspected so far have tested ?tight? and do not appear to have problems.
...
Also emerging from the steamy meeting Thursday were reports of earth tremors that rattled homes and cracked residential concrete slabs.

?I want to know what?s shaking my house. That?s what I want to know,? Debra Charlet, 54, of Bayou Corne, told gathered officials at one point.

Ball did not dispute reports of a June 8 tremor but said U.S. Geological Survey seismic monitors did not detect the tremors.
...
He said officials do not know the cause, however, whether the tremors are connected to natural gas leaks ? which have expanded in number since the May 30 report ? or are from natural subsidence common in the area.

Ball noted Louisiana?s earthquake of greatest magnitude occurred in the area in 1930.

In a later interview, Charlet, who said she is from California, said the June 8 tremor felt similar to the larger quakes in her former home state.
...

Full text:

http://theadvocate.com/news/3219113-123/efforts-intensify-to-find-gas

**Emily** · July 11, 2012, 07:46 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SALT CAVERN USE

R.L. Thoms and R.M. Gehle
AGM, INC.
P.O. Box 10358, College Station, Texas, U.S.A.
[snip]
Natural gas caverns, with deep cycling of
pressure, place more demands on the host
salt formation than liquid caverns. Salt
caverns designed for natural gas storage
started small, and have gradually increased
in size. Maximum permitted volumes of gas
caverns in Germany started at 350,000 m3
(2.201 MM bbls), were increased to 500,000
m3 (3.145 MM bbls), and for the past ten
years have been 700,000 m3 (4.403 MM bbls)
[53]. Cavern volumes are not regulated so
specifically in the U.S. A natural gas cavern
with volume of approximately 15.6 MM bbls
(2,480,000 m3) and span of 350 ft (107 m) is
now under construction in the Napoleonville
dome in south Louisiana [54]..

Deregulation at the national level in 1994:

REGULATORY, TECHNICAL PRESSURES PROMPT MORE U.S. SALT-CAVERN GAS STORAGE

09/12/1994

Thomas F. Barron
PB KBB Inc.
Houston

Natural gas storage in U.S. salt caverns is meeting the need for flexible, high delivery and injection storage following implementation Nov. 1, 1993, of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order 636.

This ruling has opened the U.S. underground natural gas storage market to more participants and created a demand for a variety of storage previously provided by pipelines as part of their bundled sales services.

Many of these new services such as "no notice" and supply balancing center on use of high delivery natural gas storage from salt caverns. Unlike reservoir storage, nothing restricts flow in a cavern...

**Emily** · July 12, 2012, 07:56 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Meeting today and USGS should be there.

http://theadvocate.com/news/3323921-...bayous-bubbles

Meeting scheduled on bayous? ?bubbles?
BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
River Parishes bureau
July 12, 2012
[snip]
Achee, who said he owns land in the area but lives elsewhere, has set up a Facebook page that has become a community forum on the situation. He said he has called a variety of agencies to find an answer.

?Try to put yourself in their shoes, man. I couldn?t go to sleep at night,? Achee said.

?From the research I?ve done, I couldn?t live there. I mean I totally sympathize with the people, and that?s why I am doing what I?m doing,? he said.

Concerns are that the process is taking so long, and that while gas concentrations are being monitored for explosive potential, there is no monitoring for health effect levels. They've observed various levels of bubbling for decades. (One resulted in a 2 month evacuation. This was in the early 2000's, after the deregulation during the 1990's mentioned in the previous post.

This video reports numerous cancers and infertility in local residents.

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**Pathfinder** · July 13, 2012, 10:41 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

USGS: Earthquakes were real

By David Mitchell
River Parishes bureau
July 13, 2012

BAYOU CORNE ? U.S. Geological Survey seismological recordings from a station near the northern Assumption Parish community of Bayou Corne show a series of earthquakes occurred on June 8 and July 3, a University of Memphis researcher said Thursday.

Stephen Horton, a research scientist with the university?s Center for Earthquake Research and Information, said about a dozen seismic events have been detected from generally, though not exactly, the same area. The USGS station picking up the quakes is in White Castle, about five miles from Bayou Corne.
...
His statement is the first formal indication that seismo-meters have recorded what residents in the area have said they have been feeling for more than a month: tremors putting out candles, knocking pictures askew and cracking slabs and wallboard.

Horton said he set up on Thursday the first of four seismic stations in the area to try to pinpoint where the quakes are coming from and how deep they are in the ground.

?And by associating that with whatever is down there, then we can hopefully come to some conclusion about what is the cause,? he said
...
The quakes have appeared to coincide with the accelerated release of natural gas from the surfaces of Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou.

Full text:

http://theadvocate.com/news/3330401-123/usgs-earthquakes-were-real

**Pathfinder** · July 13, 2012, 10:56 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Louisiana

Seismicity Map - 1973 to Present

404 Not Found

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/louisiana/seismicity.php

**Pathfinder** · July 16, 2012, 11:45 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Residents uneasy about gas bubbles

Monitoring agencies look for explanation

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
River Parishes bureau
July 16, 2012
...

Researchers hope that by pinpointing the location of the small quakes ? some were recorded by a USGS station in White Castle ? they may be able to say if the quakes are linked to the gas releases. The first monitor set up detected seismic activity on Friday, parish officials said, though possibly not big enough to be felt.
...
Madhurendu Kumar, director of DNR?s Geological Oil and Gas Division in the Office of Conservation, raised a new prospect during a community meeting Thursday. Gas stored in pockets of a fault along the Napoleonville

Dome could be being released naturally, he said.

Bayou Corne is about a mile from the northwestern edge of the salt dome.

Deep muds containing natural gas were drawn up as the salt dome was pushed to the surface in geologic history, Kumar said. The muds are closer to the surface now and tied into a system of fractures that can release gas intermittently, he said.

?So that is the situation. So we are investigating all the possibilities,? Kumar said.

Full text:

http://theadvocate.com/home/3341068-125/residents-uneasy-about-gas-bubbles

**Emily** · July 16, 2012, 06:42 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

This is something relatively new going on south of the affected area:
ETA: I think I was wrong about the location of the 2010 blowout and new drilling. See this article.

5 March 2010
ggpl.com.au/operationsnapoleonville.html

Of the three wells mentioned there, one is productive, one was shutdown for reasons I could not find, and one resulted in this in August 2010:
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Assumption Parish has a web page devoted to the current troubles here and they provided a link to a paper the LA DNR provided to them:

Effects of Earthquakes, Fault Movements, and Subsidence on the South Louisiana Landscape

The whole text is there and it is very interesting. It discusses "Soda Straw Theory."

The soda straw theory is attractive because it provides a villain and the promise of a possible reduction in rate of subsidence. However, there are several problems with this theory. Unlike the Goose Creek Field, most production from the coastal oil fields is from relatively deep - 2,000 to 15,000 feet and greater - higher pressure deposits where the fluids removed through wells are replaced by salt water and may, thereby, not create accommodation space.

The page on the drilling being done in Assumption Parish says:

The first three wells are targeting a total of 9.2 BCF of gas and 1.6 MMBO of oil at shallow depths from 5,000 feet to 10,000 feet with over half the targeted potential classified as low risk proven undeveloped reserves (PUD?s).

So from that I'd guess that the drilling, if done properly with replacement fluids, shouldn't be a problem.

**Emily** · July 19, 2012, 02:29 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Homeland Security and USGS are encouraging residents to report any new bubbling and tremors.

Officials watching Assumption bubbles

River Parishes bureau

July 19, 2012
0 Comments

BAYOU CORNE ? Officials in Assumption Parish keep monitoring gas bubbles in the waterways in the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou areas, but still don?t know where the gas is coming from...

**Emily** · July 20, 2012, 02:09 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Seismometers are picking up an average of 10 tremors a day:

Could earthquakes be the cause of bubbling bayou?

Homeland Security's Boudreaux says the constant activities are unusual and he's been patrolling the bayous twice a day. Still no cause and this is the first time I've seen the gasses described as not being flammable.

Tests have revealed the gas is not flammable, suggesting it is not a hydrocarbon or natural gas leak, Boudreaux said.

I thought they were flammable and mostly methane, but just in such a low concentration that they were not a safety hazard currently. Also, the article says a couple of gas companies are shutting pipelines down in the area to see if that helps, even though they can't detect leaks in other ways. There is a salt dome cavern still being looked at.

There's also been a gas pipeline explosion about 60-70 miles west of Bayou Corne:

Intracoastal City Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion

I saw no reports of prior tremors or other unusual activity in that area, but it might be something to keep an eye on and see what explanation the company that owns the pipeline comes up with.

Name of Well Owner Released

**Emily** · July 21, 2012, 03:35 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Bayou Corne residents anxious after letter from Assumption Parish

Posted: Jul 15, 2012 9:53 PM by Olivia LaBorde
Updated: Jul 15, 2012 9:53 PM
BELLE CHASE- People who live near the mysterious bubbles on Bayou Corne received letters from Assumption Parish leaders Sunday.

The letters requested homeowners for permission for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to come onto their properties in order to take reading of the air.
[snip]
Hernandez claims her recently bloodshot eyes are a result of whatever it is coming from the bubbles. But parish officials say that's probably not the case.

"I would say that's something else. Methane gas isn't causing that. It's not toxic. There wouldn't be those symptoms," said Boudreaux...

One of the local residents said he has been smelling benzene while boating on the bayou. (I'm trying to find the source again.)

http://www.ela-iet.com/DraftFaultpap...n022604NEW.pdf

The above case demonstrates that natural gas and associated distillate containing benzene, toluene, ethybenzene, and xylenes are likely to migrate upward, not only along leaking well casing, but also along fault structures that are penetrated by wells from depths at least 6,000 feet below surface, which, in this case, is some 3,000 feet below the probable source of radionuclides. The presence of natural gas would be expected in selected areas underlain by shallow, permeable fault zones that may provide pathways for escaping natural gas composed of methane, associated gases, and associated distillates containing dissolved benzene and other natural hydrocarbons. Natural gas analyses obtained from sampling the ground water and headspace above in a M.U.D. water well in north Houston?s FM1960 area are shown in Table 1.

**Emily** · July 22, 2012, 03:20 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Assumption Parish Press Release #7
Gas Bubbles in the Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou Areas

Friday, July 20, 2012
4:00 p.m.
For Immediate Release
[snip]
The 62nd Civil Support Team of The National Guard is performing additional gas analyses from companies with natural gas sources.

**Emily** · July 25, 2012, 03:03 AM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Looks like some progress in finding a source of the gas bubbling:

http://www.edsuite.com/proposals/pro...e_8_fi_341.pdf

Press Release #8
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 12:00 Noon
For Immediate Release
Gas Bubbles in the Bayou Corne/Grand Bayou Areas
[snip]
OEP, DNR, and DEQ went out last night and observed what is believed to be an old orphaned well in the swamps approximately 1,000 feet from the main bubbling area in Bayou Corne. It is suspected that this well may be the source of the natural gas bubbling in the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou waterways. DNR is currently investigating and bringing in necessary equipment to complete the investigation of the suspect orphaned well.
The Assumption Parish Mobile Command Post continues to be staffed daily in Bayou Corne.
The 62nd Civil Support Team of The National Guard is still performing additional gas analyses from companies with natural gas sources.

**Emily** · July 26, 2012, 05:05 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

DNR doesn't know what's in the gas coming out of the orphaned well yet, but say the gas is flammable. They don't think they've found the source of the major bubbling closer to Bayou Corne.

http://theadvocate.com/home/3448652-...ls-say-well-is

**Emily** · August 3, 2012, 04:38 PM

Re: Officials investigate bayou gas bubbles (and earthquakes) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana

There hasn't been news on this for a few days and the latest does not sound good, but I hope this might lead to a discovery of a solution for the parish. Until then, I hope that residents' health is being protected.

http://www.wlox.com/story/19191017/g...type=printable

Gas bubbles-up in Bayou Corne community
Posted: Aug 03, 2012 12:14 PM PDT Updated: Aug 03, 2012 12:14 PM PDT

NAPOLEONVILLE, La. (AP) - Officials in Assumption Parish say gas bubbles in Bayou Corne are producing a diesel-like odor....

The parish has an update today, too, and it confirms the discovery of a diesel-like odor and also describes a 'slurry' being present and trees collapsing in the area of the slurry.

Announcement

Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012-2015

Louisiana: Assumption Parish Bayou Corne Sinkhole 2012-2015

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