Drilling and associated operations in five areas outside Baghjan still disrupted (File)
Guwahati:
Oil India Limited said on Sunday that most of its wells in Baghjan, Assam, which were closed due to protests by local people over a gas well fire after a multi-day eruption, have resumed their operations after a meeting with a representative body of residents mediated by the administration of the district of Tinsukia.
Operations began between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday after residents lifted the blockade of most oil and gas wells, the statement said.
A meeting was held on Saturday between the Tinsukia district administration, representatives of the OIL and Baghjan Gaon Milanjyoti Yuva Sangha, a local organization, to resolve the problems linked to the blockade of oil and gas wells in the district, said OIL. A declaration.
However, drilling and associated operations in five other areas outside Baghjan are still disrupted due to unrest, he added.
With gas flowing uncontrollably and the fire raging at the main PSU’s gas well in Tinsukia in the past 26 days, the company said it had lost 8,013 metric tonnes (MT) of crude oil and 10, 24 million standard cubic meters (MMSCM) of natural gas. output due to bandwidths and blockages.
OIL said there was a loss of production of 386 MT of crude oil and 0.37 MMSCM of natural gas on Saturday due to disruptions in 30 oil wells and three gas wells.
Well no. 5 in Baghjan has been spitting gas uncontrollably since May 27 and it caught fire on June 9, killing two of the OIL firefighters at the site.
Speaking of the ongoing process to control the situation, OIL said it has placed a second air compressor unit on site to start the pump motor, while transporting tested equipment and machinery from the job site of society is underway.
The PSU said that 90% of the military’s construction of a Bailey bridge over a body of water adjacent to the well had been completed.
Various assessments and impact studies of the eruption and fire in the neighboring villages and forest areas are carried out by several agencies such as TERI, CSIR-NEIST and Assam Agricultural University.
The fire in the well is so massive that it can be seen at a distance of more than 30 km with thick black smoke rising over several meters, endangering local biodiversity in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
Although there is no fire around the edge of the site at present, OIL has declared an area up to 1.5 km in radius as a “red zone” to avoid any untoward incidents and any damage to people.
