Chesapeake Wyoming well leak under control

Boots and Coots, a pressure control company owned by Houston-based Halliburton and contracted by Chesapeake after the well blowout on Tuesday, was pumping drilling mud into the well a day after its efforts were hampered by wind and adverse weather.

The well stopped leaking natural gas about three days after Chesapeake lost control while installing a well casing, the Commission said.

The commission said the well will be filled with drilling mud by late afternoon. Chesapeake and its contractors are applying a process that resembles BP Plc's "Top Kill" effort that failed to stem a deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.

On Thursday, Chesapeake had said wind speeds and direction were unfavorable for it to regain control of the well.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had said the blowout does not pose a threat to water supply in the region and leaking oil-based drilling mud was safely contained.

The cause of the incident was not disclosed.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake is the No. 2 U.S. natural gas driller. Chesapeake had another natural-gas well blowout in Pennsylvania a year ago.

Chesapeake shares fell 0.74 percent to $17.43 in afternoon trading.

(Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan; editing by Gunna Dickson and David Gregorio)