LOS ANGELES, July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) released a new video today that shows
the eight-step Safety Review Testing Regime established by the
state's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). The
protocol was established in consultation with the Lawrence
Livermore and Berkeley National Laboratories. The video
demonstrates the types of testing for each of the storage wells
intended for operations at the Aliso Canyon storage facility.
Every well at Aliso Canyon will either pass a battery of tests
(demonstrated in the video) or be taken out of operation and
isolated from the underground gas reservoir before gas injection
can resume at the facility.
SoCalGas has been working in compliance with the protocol to
test all wells at the field since just after the leak was sealed
five months ago. As of July 15,
all of the 114 active wells have completed Phase 1 inspections,
which include temperature and noise tests, and 93 wells (or 82
percent) have moved on to Phase 2 of the inspection protocol.
Eighteen wells have completed all diagnostics, and 15 wells have
received final DOGGR approval.
"This thorough testing is an important part of regaining
people's trust and confidence that our Aliso Canyon facility is
safe to operate," said SoCalGas Chief Operating Officer
Bret Lane. "We are diligently
following all new state guidelines, and we aim to receive
authorization to partially restore operations at the field by late
summer. We realize this is important to meeting Southern California's energy needs this summer
and during next winter's heating season."
The eight tests include:
- A temperature test, which runs a thermometer throughout the
well to check for changes in temperature that could indicate a
leak.
- A noise test, which uses a sensitive microphone to record and
listen for sound frequency changes that might indicate a leak.
- An ultrasonic imaging test which measures the thickness of the
well's casing and cement quality using sound waves.
- A cement bond test, which also uses sound waves, and measures
the quality of the adhesion between the casing and the cement, as
well as the cement and the surrounding rock formation.
- A magnetic flux leakage test that creates a magnetic field to
measure for any pitting in the steel casing and the thickness of
the steel.
- A multi-arm caliper test to measure the internal diameter of
the steel casing while searching for changes in the wall
integrity.
- A hydro pressure test of the well's casing.
- A hydro pressure test of the tubing within the well.
In addition to the testing protocol, all Aliso Canyon facility
wells are monitored for pressure changes and scanned daily with an
infrared camera. This multi-stage well testing and ongoing
monitoring provide a sound approach to assuring the integrity of
wells at the Aliso Canyon facility. Animation of a well's
components and demonstrations of the eight tests are shown in the
video.
SoCalGas provides updates on the status of testing every two
weeks to DOGGR, which posts them on its website. The next report
will be submitted on Friday, July 29.
About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California
Gas Co. has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to
its customers for more than 145 years. It is the nation's largest
natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.6 million
consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500
communities. The company's service territory encompasses
approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and
Southern California, from
Visalia to the Mexican border.
Southern California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra
Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company
based in San Diego.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.