Chesapeake stems flow from blown Pennsylvania gas well

By Edward McAllister

NEW YORK | Fri Apr 22, 2011 12:51am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy has stemmed the flow of leaking drilling fluids from a natural gas well that suffered a blow-out late on Tuesday in Pennsylvania and prompted the company to suspend a controversial gas production technique in the state.Chesapeake, one of Pennsylvania's biggest shale gas producers, used a mix of plastic, ground-up tires and heavy mud to plug the well -- an operation that echoes BP's "top kill" effort to seal its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well last year.
"Late Thursday afternoon, efforts to seal the leak and regain control of well pressure were successful," Chesapeake said in a statement on Thursday evening.
The company said it still did not know the cause of the blowout nearly two days after it occurred. It was planning to start an investigation into the accident, the statement said.

To read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/us-chesapeake-blowout-idUSTRE73K5OH20110422