CASPER, Wyo. -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. and its contractors on Friday stopped the flow of natural gas from an out-of-control well in eastern Wyoming, nearly three days after the well into the Niobrara Shale formation blew out and led 50 nearby residents to evacuate their homes.

Aided by a favorable wind that pushed gas away from the site, contractors pumped drilling mud into the well until the gas flow stopped, said Tom Doll, Wyoming's oil and gas supervisor.

He said he doesn't expect any further release of gas from the well, located about seven miles northeast of Douglas.

Chesapeake will monitor the situation over the weekend, continue to stabilize the well, then on Monday start cleaning the rig and well site, including spilled drilling mud and any other liquids that spewed from the well, Doll said.

"We'll be sampling the soil and making sure the cleanup's done correctly around the rig," he said. "I think we've been pretty fortunate in this particular incident that it was primarily dry natural gas, and the fact the rig didn't catch on fire was really remarkable."

Inspectors from Chesapeake, its contractors and the state will inspect the Trinidad Drilling Co. drill rig, blowout prevention equipment and the well itself to make sure everything is safe, Doll said.