Natural gas production back online following rupture

Gastar Exploration Inc has restarted operations at its Marshall County, West Virginia, US, facility following a natural gas pipeline rupture. The rupture occurred on April 5th at the facility that produces natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation. It resulted in all operations being shut down.

The system was shutdown for four-and-a-half days due to a rupture in one of the natural gas pipelines operated by Williams Partners. The pipeline that experienced the rupture accounted for two-thirds of the company's daily production, meaning that the shutdown impacted overall production. It has not been revealed how much money the shutdown has lost the company.

The shutdown was triggered by a rupture and fire in a 12 inch pipeline. Gastar and Williams Partners were working together to determine the overall damage to the entire gas system and to restart production at the earliest opportunity. 

Currently, gas is being produced through the system at a reduced rate, which is seeing around 50 million cubic feet of shale produced each day. This is around 19 per cent less than average daily volumes throughout last month, meaning that the company is possibly still losing money due to the rupture.

Gas is now being transported via a larger pipeline that is operated by Williams Partners. The company has informed Gastar that repairs are expected to be completed within the next three weeks, at which point the system will be able to resume its normal operations. 

It isn't all bad news for Gastar though, as the firm has also announced that it began drilling operations on its first Utica/Point Pleasant well earlier in the month. Drilling is expected to reach a total depth of 11,100 feet, with a 4,200 foot lateral. This process will be followed by a 21-stage fracture stimulation. If drilling is successful, the company is expecting the first sales to go ahead in July this year.