Cabot Oil ordered to shut fracturing ops in Penn.

(Reuters) – Pennsylvania regulators said they ordered Cabot Oil & Gas Corp to stop all hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in Susquehanna County until it completed a number of important engineering and safety tasks.

Cabot voluntarily shut down fracking operations at the Heitsman well in Dimock Township on Tuesday afternoon, following three separate spills in less than one week, said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in a statement.

The order requires Cabot to develop an updated and accurate pollution prevention and contingency plan within 14 days for all permitted well pad sites in the county.

Cabot must also conduct an engineering study of all equipment and work practices associated with hydraulic fracturing at all well sites in the county within 21 days, said the regulators.

Reuters