Capped: State police say a natural gas well that blew wild in Calcasieu Parish has been secured, and evacuated residents have returned home. State police Sgt. James Anderson says the blowout happened Wednesday afternoon causing the evacuation of 10 residents from four nearby homes near Bell City. Anderson tells The Associated Press on Friday the well was capped late Thursday night and the evacuation order was canceled. The well spewed natural gas, sand and saltwater into the air, prompting the state Department of Environmental Quality to monitor air quality in the area. Anderson says all roads in the area are open.
On the way down: Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in Louisiana declined by one this week to 73. The Houston-based firm says the U.S. rig count fell by 27 this week to 905 amid depressed oil prices. Of them, 679 rigs were seeking oil and 222 explored for natural gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,854 rigs were active. Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 13 rigs; Oklahoma lost seven; New Mexico and Pennsylvania were each down two; and Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas were also each down one. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
By the numbers: The state labor department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending April 25 decreased to 2,737 from the previous week’s total of 2,789. For the comparable week a year earlier, officials say there were 2,238 initial claims. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, increased to 2,722 from the previous week’s average of 2,693. Continued unemployment claims for the week ending April 25 increased to 22,809 compared to 22,248 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 22,099 from the previous week’s average of 21,775. The Louisiana Workforce Commission has more details.
