Assam's Baghjan oil well catches fire after leaking for weeks
On Tuesday, a massive fire erupted at a natural gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) in Assam's Tinsukia district. The Baghjan 5 well has been spewing gas and oil for about two weeks after a blowout on May 27. Eyewitnesses told PTI that flames were visible from a distance of over two kilometers. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
According to PTI, three experts from the Singaporean firm Alert Disaster Control had been working at the site and some equipment was being removed when the fire broke out Tuesday afternoon. An OIL spokesperson said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. They said no casualty or injury has been reported yet. Firefighters have reached the spot to douse the flames.
#WATCH Massive fire at the gas well of Oil India Ltd at Baghjan in Tinsukia district, Assam. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is present at the spot pic.twitter.com/Tw2G92aPXy
— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2020
The official Twitter handle of the Assam Chief Minister's Office said CM Sarabananda Sonowal has spoken to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding the incident. Sonowal has directed fire and emergency services, along with army and police officials, to control the situation, the CMO said. The district administration has also been directed to ensure people's safety. Sonowal has appealed to the locals to not panic.
The CM has already directed to deploy fire emergency services, army and police officials at the site to control the situation.
— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) June 9, 2020
The CM also directed district admin to ensure safety of people and appealed to local people to not panic.
The Baghjan well had been leaking oil and gas ever since a blowout on May 27 morning. Locals told The Indian Express that condensate (gas that has come in contact with water) could be found up to 5 km from the site. Thousands of people had reportedly been evacuated from surrounding villages. A variety of fish and an endangered Gangetic dolphin had died.
The well had been drilled by OIL in 2006. It produces 80,000 standard cubic meters per day (SCMD) of gas. Officials told TIE on Monday that the current discharge was at 90,000 SCMD at a pressure of 4,200 PSI, higher than the normal 2,700 PSI.
When pressure balance in a well is disturbed, it can lead to 'kicks' or changes in pressure. If left unattended, these kicks can cause blowouts. Geologist Siddhartha Kumar told TIE, "The force with which a pressure cooker releases steam is understandable. Imagine a situation where one million pressure cookers do the same in an uncontrolled manner." A blowout preventer is hence installed in wells.
OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika told TIE that the well was being serviced and a new sand was being tested at another depth in the same well. They were also repairing an existing well-head, for which, the producing zone was temporarily shut and the blowout preventer was removed. Hazarika said the gas then started leaking and broke through the cement barrier. An inquiry is underway.
