CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Chief Oil & Natural Gas LLC said a rig was damaged in a fire after workers hit a pocket of methane while drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale near Moundsville, West Virginia.

“We will be able to continue drilling once we get a new rig in,” Kristi Gittins, a spokeswoman for Chief Oil, said in a telephone interview. Seven workers suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, she said.

The accident comes after a “blowout” June 3 at a natural gas well operated by EOG Resources Inc. in Pennsylvania. The incident sent natural gas and drilling fluids onto the ground and 75 feet (23 meters) into the air, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

More accidents will increase pressure on state and federal agencies to create and enforce stronger regulations for the development of onshore oil and natural gas, Amy Mall, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a New York-based advocacy group.

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