A breach in the pipeline that was used to cap the gas pocket that exploded back in June in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, has caused a blockage which in turn saw several mini gas eruptions at the Diamond, East Bank Demerara, residence.
The eruptions occurred sometime around 01:00h on Wednesday at the same Sixth Avenue, Great Diamond home where contractors had hit a natural gas pocket causing an immediate explosion two months ago.
The exposed area was initially capped and the gas was being released into the atmosphere through a pipeline. However, that pipeline became compromised with a sand blockage; and as a result of this blockage, the gas was unable to escape
The two mini eruptions in the yard at Diamond
and the built up pressure resulted in the gas being released through other compromised openings. There were at least two mini-gas eruptions while various spots in the yard could be seen bubbling.
“Actually the entire subsurface has been compromised from the drilling and blowout they had in the first case so now it’s very difficult [to stop] because if you walk around the yard you will see bubbles all around the yard… [The mud, water and sand mixture] was flowing through that pipe earlier this morning but now it stopped because of the sand blockage it can’t flow through [the pipeline] and so now it’s going to find anywhere through the weakest points to come escape,” Senior Petroleum Technologist attached to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Mitchell Prince, explained.
He added that debris from the collapsed trestle and the derelicts from the drillers along with the fact that the engineers could not find the exact location where the initial drilling was done, all contributed to this second explosion.
Nevertheless, he noted that steps would be taken to clear the pipeline so that the gas can be released through it and not find other compromised channels to escape.
“We’re gonna remove that pipe and we’re gonna pass a drill down that hole and flush the well out,” he noted.
About a decade ago, a similar gas explosion in the nearby Golden Grove saw an
The initial explosion
apparatus being constructed and installed to trap the gas in a tank which was release into the home for domestic use. While tests done in June had confirmed traces of methane gas, officials opted not to trap the gas this time and instead released it into the atmosphere.
However, Prince told Guyana Times the former option could have been more effective.
“It’s a case where you have [gas] coming into the pipe and it gotta be utilised… It would reduce some of the back pressure because what you’re having is back pressure,” he said.
When asked whether the GGMC will be looking at using the tank at this location as well, the Senior Petroleum Technologist said that decision is not up to him.
Meanwhile, as the GGMC works along with other stakeholder bodies to clear the pipeline so that the gas can be released through it, the Senior Petroleum technologist is assuring concerned nearby residents there is nothing to worry about. However, GGMC’s Commissioner Newell Dennison had told Guyana Times that they will have to await the completion of the clean-up exercise for an assessment to be done on the crater before commencing works on the apparatus. “It is intended that we will construct an apparatus, we will construct the conductor casings that we would want to put into the vent; those things will have to be constructed. But I wouldn’t want to preempt what it is exactly that would have to be done because there might be modifications of what is intended and what we observe, after the full clean-up and actually get a good look at the orifice that has been presented to us,” Dennison has explained.
At about 18:00h on June 14, 2018, construction workers were drilling a well at the Lot 1200 Section A Block ‘X’, Great Diamond, residence (between Sixth and Fifth Avenue) when they hit a natural gas pocket causing an immediate explosion, which lasted the entire night with fluctuating eruptions, as high as 30 feet of various substances, including soot.
Local stakeholder agencies had since come together to monitor the situation. According to officials, the gas emanating does not pose any threat to surrounding neighbours and as such, a safe zone was established in the area.
