Chevron offers residents pizza coupons after fracking well explodes

BOBTOWN, Pa., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Chevron, in a bid to placate residents of Bobtown, Pa., after an enormous gas well explosion, gave out coupons for a free large pizza and 2-liter of soda.

The blast took place last Tuesday and had many of the residents shaken up. The Chevron fracking well exploded with a loud noise and was seen shooting flames into the air for more than 12 hours afterward.

"It was very, very scary. You knew somebody had to be hurt somewhere with that explosion," said local resident Michelle Popernack.

At the time, Chevron released an official statement saying the company "would like to express our sincere regret to those who may be affected by the incident. We're working to contain the fire and ensure the safety of our employees, contractors and the surrounding community."

The fire finally went out completely five days later.

On Sunday, residents of Bobtown received a letter from Chevron apologizing for the explosion and with it was attached a gift certificate to Bobtown Pizza, offering them a free large pizza and two-liter bottle of soda.

Chevron purchased 100 gift certificates, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. Attached to the coupons was a letter from the company.

Dear Neighbor, We are sorry to have missed you. We wanted to provide you with a status update on the February 11 incident that occurred on Chevron’s Appalachia’s Lanoce 7 H well pads in Dunkard Township and see if you had any questions or concerns that we could address. Chevron recognizes the effect this has had on the community. We value being a responsible member of this community and will continue to strive to achieve incident-free operations. We are committed to taking action to safeguard our neighbors, our employees, our contractors and the environment. If you have any questions, please call our toll free community line at 1-877-847-8408. Thank you, Chevron Community Outreach Team

[Philadelphia Daily News] [WDTV]