Chevron, the oil and gas conglomerate that runs the Greene County gas well that exploded today, is currently flying a disaster emergency team to Western PA to help pacify a fire that has been blazing for more than nine hours. The "wild-well response team" are specialists trained to control fires and other accident at drill sites. They are expected to reach Pennsylvania and assist in the efforts to extinguish the fire some time in the late afternoon.

Initial reports did not tell whether anyone was injured or not, but there was a rumor that one person was missing. At this time, confirmed reports are saying that one man is injured and another still has not been found.  

A spokesperson for Chevron officially stated this afternoon that the fire was reported at approximately 6:45 a.m. from workers of the LANCO 7H gas well in Dunkard, which is located on the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. "Chevron's primary concern at this point," said the spokesperson, "is to contain the fire and ensure the safety of its employees, contractors, and the surrounding community."

First responders, police, firefighters, EMTs, and other emergency personnel weren't even able to approach the area around the well due to the intensity of the heat for the first few hours. Police initially set up a half-mile boundary in all directions around the site as a deterrent. Since then, first responders have been able to get closer, but are only able to contain the fire, not extinguish it.

One state official reiterated that there were in fact at least twenty workers at the site, although she is unsure what they were doing at the time of the accident, nor is she sure what caused it.

Greene County has rich deposits of liquid gases like ethane and propane. Companies like EQT, Consol Energy, and Chevron have made millions in profits from fracking in this area. Greene County has the sixth most wells in the state, showing at least 641. One of Chevron's local subsidiaries, Chevron Appalachia, LLC, has received at least forty permits for fracking in Greene County in the past five years. There are three wells at the LANCO 7H site, but the other two were considered dormant and ineffective since March of 2012.

Source: Trib Live, "One missing, one hurt in gas well explosion in Greene County" 11 February 2014