Crews start plugging Berthoud-area oil well
An oil well near Berthoud that was capped in 1984 but began spilling drilling mud late last month should be recapped within the next week.
Crews on Wednesday began the process of sealing the old well with concrete plugs to be topped off with a steel plate, according to information from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
“They have mobilized a plugging rig at the location,” said Todd Hartman, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “I assume that they are going to repair what happened there with today’s technology.”
The process could take a week. Determining what exactly caused the seal on the old well to fail likely will take much longer, Hartman said.
When what looked like oil started flowing from the well in the 2500 block of East Colorado 60 on Oct. 29, a person who lives on the Weld County property reported the spill.
Loveland and Berthoud fire crews responded and, with the help of drilling companies that were working nearby, used dirt piles and special vacuum trucks to stop the flow. About 300 barrels of drilling mud, containing some oil, spilled.
Since then, a team led by Extraction Oil & Gas, one of the companies working nearby, has led the process of preparing to plug the well. Work was ready to begin Tuesday, but the snow and cold temperatures pushed the process back a day.
This particular well is believed to have been drilled in the 1920s or 1930s and was plugged and abandoned in 1984. The company that operated the well at the time is no longer in business, therefore, the state is responsible for making sure the well is resealed.
The general process of capping a well involves installing at least four layers of cement plugs at strategic areas of the well, explained Stuart Ellsworth, engineering manager for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. He spoke about the process in general during a recent phone interview and not about the specifics of this well.
The first step is to place a cement plug at the bottom of the well, and those are followed by cement plugs at other locations, including below any fresh water zones, and just below the steel plate that tops the well as the final cap, Ellsworth explained.
The plate is placed 4 feet below the surface, above a minimum of four cement plugs.
The company that operates a well is responsible for capping it when it finishes producing, though experts with the oil and gas commission review the plans and oversee process.
“This gives us the opportunity to observe, monitor and verify that it is performed properly,” Ellsworth said.