Belpre Residents Face Gas Service Interruptions Due to Brine Migration
Knox Energy Cooperative in Ohio has informed 43 customers that they will be disconnected from natural gas service on October 29th due to expected outages this winter.
The cooperative relies on Wilson Energy for information about gas production, which has declined significantly. In a statement, Knox said it does not own or operate any natural gas production assets.
According to Wilson Energy President Bob Wilson, the decline in output is due to brine migration from nearby injection wells, an issue that has ruined dozens of his wells since 2019 and cost him millions of dollars in potential revenue. 'The problem is my wells are filling full of disposal water. And when the disposal water hits them, they no longer make oil and gas,' Wilson said.
The cooperative first notified about 160 customers of potential reliability issues by letter in September 2025. Knox said it met with Wilson Energy over the past several months and was told production had continued to decline, and that interruptions would likely be more severe this coming winter.