"Gas company drilling runs into more problems"

The Six Nations Gas Company was just 30 feet from the eastern shoreline of the Grand River when the drill chain snapped and their hopes to have crossed the river within a week were lost.

But Nick Petruzzella, says repairs have been made and drilling was expected to be completed yesterday (Wednesday).

"We did have mechanical difficulties Monday. We were just 30 feet from the shore when the chain that drives the drill broke."

He said drilling would start again Tuesday morning.

He said the drill head was being aimed upwards. "We were having some difficulty biting into the shale or granite above it. We're in limestone now. It's going slower than expected but the hole is all the way through and if all goes well we should finish the drilling tomorrow (Tuesday)."

He said one drilling is complete, back reaming will take place and the pipe installed, he said by Wednesday.

The Six Nations Gas Company had hoped drilling would be finished more than a week ago but a series of problems intervened.

The drilling rig broke down and contractors were only able to drill through LaFortune Park, west of Caledonia, about 50 meters back from the bank of the Grand River after two days on site.

Work stopped when the drill ran into problems underground. Petruzzella said the drill pipe was pulled out and the hole sealed. The angle the drill bit was going in at, was too shallow for the drill bit to make contact with the shale bedrock, he said.

The pipe is being reinstalled to replace an aging yellow pipe now laying on the bottom of the Grand River. The pipe is believed to be leaking gas into the river.

The new pipeline will replace the old rusting metal pipe and feed into the current gas system.

The drilling is taking place at LaFortune Park, just outside Caledonia along Highway 54. Employees marked spots along the shoreline there and just east of Wolf's Landing a riverside park on the Six Nations shoreline.

The drill has gone down about 8 metres (25 feet) to the shale bedrock and about 1.5 metres under the bedrock. The drill will then go 40 metres across LaFortune Park and 180 metres across the river and 30 metres inland from the river on the Six Nations shoreline.

The eight inch plastic pipe will be pulled through with a four inch gas pipe feeding through it. It will head straight up Cayuga Road along a right of way. It will join into the Union Gas line along Regional Road 54 replacing the two metal pipes laying on the bed of the Grand that are leaking about 12 feet down.