BURLESON COUNTY, Texas — Back in 2020, an oil well owned by Chesapeake Energy had a blowout and killed three people and left one person seriously injured. In the last year, Chesapeake Energy has been linked to at least three other instances of blowouts or sudden explosions in the Brazos Valley.
Lynn Elliot is retired now, but he worked in the oil and gas industry for 40 years. He's been around oil wells and the job much of his life. Elliot said blowouts are different from explosions; and the incident that happened in 2020 is different than what happened on the property near Lake Somerville February 4.
“When the well blew out that day, you have no way of controlling it. The only thing you can do is try to get away from it," Elliot said.
Elliot said workers are usually taught safety measures on how to shut off wells and make sure vents are secured but sometimes human error can cause the worst to happen.
“Well, 99 percent of the time it works perfectly, but if somebody makes one small mistake or you have some unanticipated event…that’s it," said Elliot.
According to Elliot, blowouts and ruptures with wells don't happen often. He said that Friday's explosion in Burleson County would qualify as a rupture.
"Blowouts and even ruptures are pretty rare because the equipment we use now has enough safety devices incorporated into it," he said.
Those who witnessed parts of the situation said they knew something wasn't right. John Walters, a resident of Burleson County, said he was driving by when he saw something unusual.
"When I got to the hill, there was big curve at the hill. I could see that fire, it was a big fire. So anyway, the closer I got I knew then what was going on," Walters said.
The fire Walters saw was the result of an explosion that would ultimately end up putting one person in the hospital with serious injuries after they drove into part of the oil well that landed on the road. Walters said he had to drive around a large piece of debris where he was.
“I saw this big piece of iron on the highway, in the middle of the highway. So I was only going about ten-fifteen miles an hour so I eased around it," he said.
As of Tuesday, Chesapeake Energy said the cause of the explosion remains undetermined.