Officials want to know what caused gas leak

The Douglas oil well that started spewing gas into the atmosphere last Tuesday has been plugged up with mud and is reportedly under control.

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will sample soil and do rig inspections later this week to determine the cause of the accident. State Oil and Gas Supervisor, Tom Doll, says the state isn’t necessarily impacted monetarily by the gas loss because it's on private land, but does want to find out what happened at the site.

"This is a fee well and the amount of taxes and royalties on this particular well are going to be pretty minor. What we really are looking for is issues related to compliance and the total amount of gas that could’ve been vented to the atmosphere. That’s really where we’re really trying to get at this point."

Doll said there is no suspicion of incompliant actions, but that the incident has served as a cautionary reminder to nearby rigs to check their blowout preventer equipment, as well.