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Helicopters hunting for natural gasJan 18, 2013 (The Dominion Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A Texas-based seismic data company is conducting testing in western Monongalia County to detect natural gas. A contractor for Seitel Inc. said a helicopter frequently spotted overhead is dropping wireless sensors, called geophones, that remain on the ground for a week to a month at a time, before being moved elsewhere. The Dominion Post agreed to withhold the contractor's name because he was not an authorized spokesperson. Calls to Seitel's parent company, OMNI Energy Services Corp., were not returned in time for this report. According to Seitel's website, geophones record shockwaves sent underground to help create a sound picture of the earth, including possible pockets of natural gas. The contractor said testing is being conducted over 175 square miles, including portions of Monongalia, Marion and Wetzel counties. Testing began in May, he said, and is nearly finished. Larry Layne said he was working in his vegetable garden recently when he saw a helicopter flying low over his house. A long wire carrying orange sacks was hanging from it. "The helicopter lowered just beyond my pond and dropped some of the sacks. About a halfhour later, it flew over again, repeating the procedure," Layne said in an email to The Dominion Post. "The next day, I located two of the sacks and met a fellow who said he worked for Geokinetics, a seismic testing company. Armed with a GPS device, he was trying to locate all of the testing materials, which, he said, comprised two stations of dynamite and 23 recording devices." A call to Geokinetics also was not returned in time for this report. Kathy Cosco, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said no permit is required for seismic testing, but the landowner must be notified. Seitel's contractor said landowners should have been contacted and signed agreements for the testing beforehand, but at least one resident who contacted The Dominion Post said equipment was dropped on her family's property without permission. A Seitel worker died Tuesday near CONSOL's Loveridge mine, outside Fairview. The drilling rig he was operating rolled over and crushed him. The name of the man has not been released, and the incident remains under investigation. CONSOL granted Houstonbased Seitel Inc. access to its property to conduct geophysical seismic testing. ___ (c)2013 The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) Visit The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.) at www.dominionpost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |