Drillers vs. Montana River
“Please call me so we can discuss this,” was the email writer and driller Steve Kaser received with the above picture. And so began a complex and offbeat well decommissioning in a Montana River.
Sizing Up the Situation
Drillers with Potts Drilling in Bozemen, Mont., arrive to the site of a complex decommissioning along the Madison River north of West Yellowstone. The project was done in late 2011. Source: Dave Potts
Heaving Machinery
Sunk to 47 Feet
The well was sunk to 47 feet with 6-inch casing. Crews used rubber cementing plugs to stop the flow.
Pulling the Casing
A crane prepares to pull the well top and its tiny island from the Madison River. Source: Dave Potts
Up and Away
A crane lifts the cut casing from the Madison River. Source: Dave Potts
On Land
A workman unhooks the top casing of the well from the lift after it was pulled from the river. Source: Dave Potts
NONE
A Potts Drilling workman wraps up the decommissioning. Source: Dave Potts
No Well Is an Island
Montana Fish and Game Commission crews had to extend a ladder to inspect the well several feet off the bank of the Madison River. Source: Scott Blossom
'We Can't Do That'
Another view from a few months before the decommissioning. The state asked drillers to cut the casing cut several feet below the riverbed. The drillers’ first instinct was to latch onto the casing with a crane, give it a good tug and let the river fill it in. But the state of Montana had other ideas. Source: Scott Blossom
Plug It and Cut It, State Says
A picture from the day of the decommissioning job shows that winter had taken over the site. The state wanted the well capped. Source: Scott Blossom
Chipping Away
Drillers on a lift go to work on a well decommissioning job. Source: Dave Potts
100 Gallons Per Minute
"It better work the first time because, if it don’t, we’ll have a real mess on our hands," writer Steve Kaser told Dave Potts, the head of the decommissioning crew. Source: Dave Potts
Well Was 40 Years Old
The well was drilled in 1971. No word on how it ended up several feet off the bank of the river. Source: Dave Potts
Five Pounds Per Square Inch
The artesian pressure at the surface was, according to the log, 5 psi. "We got lucky there," Kaser said. Source: Dave Potts
Best Laid Plans
Drillers relied on cable tooling to get the job done. Source: Dave Potts
Cutting the Casing
A workman with Potts Drilling of Bozeman, Mont., prepares to run a Rampp casing cutter. The state required the casing be cut four feet below the riverbed. Source: Dave Potts