Well cappers on hand, slow process begins

Travel between Eunice and Crowley is likely to be detoured at least through the weekend and residents displaced by an oil/gas well blowout will remain that way.
State Police said well control specialists Wild Well Control & Engineering Services, of Houston, Texas were on hand on Wednesday with Department of Environmental Quality officials, Louisiana State Police Haz Mat teams, Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office members and several local fire departments.
“What’s taking place right now is assessment of the site as well as the prepping of the site for entry, so that crews can safely enter the area,” said Trooper Stephen Hammons, public information officer for the state police. “This work is anticipated to continue. Right now, we’re planning for it to continue into the weekend. How it’s going to progress from that point is still unclear.”
Hammons said coordinating efforts are being made to escort displaced residents back to their homes to retrieve “necessity items” for the days to come. About 30 people from a dozen residences are affected.
He said that the Louisiana State Police remained in touch with Red Cross to meet the needs of displaced residents as they may occur. He said that no official shelters have been requested or opened.
The Highway 13 detour remains in place for Wednesday with the same area cordoned off as on Tuesday night when the well ruptured. Travel to destinations using the highway will take extra time until the response is complete. There is no estimate as yet as to how long that might be.
No injuries have been reported in the blow-out.
Authorities said that Black Creek Drilling employees were “drilling a natural gas well when they lost pressure. As a result, there was a well blowout.”
Black Creek, out of Columbus, Texas, is drilling under a permit acquired by Zachary Exploration of San Antonio, Texas.
Black Creek officials did not return phone calls on Wednesday and a Zachary employee said president A.J. Rodriguez would issue a statement. That had not occurred by noon.
According to authorities, the detour route on the busy north-south highway is:
If you are traveling from the Crowley area, north to the Eunice area, take LA 13 to LA 370, LA 370 to LA 368, LA 368 to LA 755 and LA 365 to LA 367 to Hwy 190.
If you are traveling from the Eunice area, south to the Crowley area, reverse those directions.
A series of what sounded like thunderclaps came from the general direction of an operating well, though there are also gas pipelines and gas plants in the general area..
State Police cordoned off an area of Acadia Parish from south of Highway 3123 , also known as “Tiger Lane”, to south past The Old Mowata Store near Highway 370 (the Branch Highway).
Nearby residents reported hearing the blowout shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Notably absent from the cordoned area’s skyline Wednesday were plumes of steam emitted by generating at the Cleco plant near Atteberry Road. The company took the plant through a precautionary controlled shutdown Tuesday night.
At least two wells are under development on the east side of La. 13 in the general area involved, and a distribution site is under construction. Whether either of those wells is involved is not known.
There has been a flurry of activity in recent months of reworking formerly producing wells, in addition to exploration on new sites.
Zachary has permits for a number of those wells.