FIXING THE LEAK

After more than three months, a natural gas leak at SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Storage facility has proven tough
to stop. But officials are saying a fix could come by the end of this month maybe sooner.
Heres how theyre trying to plug it:

KILL
LEAKING WELL
Mud and
water
pressure

Relief
well

1,0

00

Gas
Pressure
ft.

2,0

00

ft.

3,0

00

ft.

4,0

00

ft.

5,0

00

6,0

00

7,0

00

8,0

00

9,0

PLUG
LEAKING WELL

ft.
ft.

Ce

ft.

Relief
well

ft.

00

Leaking
well

ft.

Na

tur
a
(in l ga
sa s re
nd se
sto rv
ne oir
)

en

Leaking
well

Gas
Pressure

PLUGGING THE LEAK

IN FIVE PHASES
1

DRILL
(at 1,000 ft.)

APPROACH
(at 2,000-3,000 ft.)

LOCATE
(at 3,000-4,000 ft.)

FOLLOW
(at 6,000 ft.)

INTERCEPT AND KILL

(at 7,000 to beyond 8,000 ft.)

Install first part of

a relief well near
the failed well.

Drill close enough to

the failed well, using
technology to verify it
is indeed leaking.

Positively ID the
failed well.

Drill some more get close

enough to intercept the
leaking well.

This is where theyre at now.

Heres where they intercept the
leaking well and pump mud and
fluid into it to stop the flow of gas.