Mire Firefighters responded to calls of heavy smoke coming from a land rig on Canadian Lane near the Lafayette Parish line Wednesday morning.
The rig's owner, Camex Operating Co., released the following statement to KATC Wednesday afternoon:
At approximately 11:00 PM on February 4, 2020, an apparent mechanical failure in a pressure release valve caused a producing oil well to release steam (water vapor) and possibly trace amounts of hydrocarbon, from surface production equipment. It was previously described as 'smoke from a rig'.
The company responded immediately upon being notified of the release and shut-in the well as soon as possible. The event lasted approximately four hours. There was never any danger of fire or explosion due to this release. No pollution was released from the facility. The equipment which caused the release has been returned to good operating condition.
Camex takes safety in its operations very seriously.
All laws, rules and regulations have, and will continue to be followed for this project. The company sincerely regrets any inconvenience or concerns this incident may have caused to people in the area.
A viewer who lives near the rig told KATC that she and her family began noticing a weird smell and the smoke around midnight.
According to the Acadia Sheriff's dispatch, a pressure valve issue caused the smoke and smell.
The situation was not deemed a hazmat situation by investigators.
Firefighters, rig company respond to pressure valve incident
