Utility estimates LA-area gas leak to cost at least $250M

Southern California Gas said today it has stopped the escape of methane from that leaking well at the Aliso Canyon gas storage field.

After intersecting the relief well with the SS-25, pumping of heavy fluids into the leaking well to stop the flow of gas will begin, probably in the next several days, a SoCalGas spokesperson told NGI on Wednesday. SoCalGas said it would wind down its relocation program for displaced residents once the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources confirms the leak has been sealed. The leak began on October 23, and after SoCal Gas exhausted all other solutions to plug the leak, the company began drilling relief wells as a last-ditch attempt in early December. No official timeline has been established for sealing off the well.

The company, a unit of Sempra Energy, said in a statement that while this was a “positive development”, more work needed to be done before the leak would be permanently sealed.

“Most of the families in the community are very excited to get back, but they will not be distracted by the leak stoppage”, Paula Cracium, head of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council, told the Los Angeles Times. Hotel dwellers will have eight days to return home and those who moved to other accommodations can stay through the end of short-term leases they signed.

Southern California Gas announced Thursday afternoon that it has successfully plugged the Porter Ranch Gas Leak.

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Once the well is sealed, though, life for some may never return to normal.

The leak was the largest of any natural gas storage facility west of the Mississippi River and released two million tons of methane in the air, significantly contributing to climate change, since methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. “We have controlled the gas from SS-25”.

During a news conference held in Porter Ranch with residents and city officials at Tampa Avenue and Sesnon Boulevard, many stood and stared out at the fresh green hills of their community with foreboding.