The Oil India Limited operates the gas well No. 5 in the Baghjan oil field which caught fire on June 9. (File)
Guwahati:
Major PSU Oil India Limited said on Friday that no oil is flowing into the water wells of a gas well in Baghjan in Assam after an eruption last month, as claimed by a video clip that went viral on social networks.
Flood water entered the fire site of a gas well in the Tinsukia district, affecting the efforts of OIL authorities to plug the well and put out the fire, the company said.
“There is a video clip circulating in social media in which it was claimed that a lot of oil is flowing in the bodies of water / river near the Baghjan eruption well. This is totally false because all the oil coming out of the well is completely burned “at the head of the well,” OIL said in a tweet.
A press information office (GDP) statement also said that the well head area was dry and that no oil was flowing into a body of water.
“Before the fire, the condensate fell in the vicinity while leaving with the gas. But once the well caught fire on June 9, all the condensate and the gas burned,” the statement said.
Baghjan’s well 5 is spewing gas uncontrollably since the May 27 eruption and it caught fire on June 9, killing two of the OIL firefighters at the site.
Meanwhile, it is raining continuously and various parts of the Baghjan gas well site and three roads leading to Tinsukia have been flooded, making it difficult to move personnel and equipment, OIL said in a statement.
The earlier reserved heliport site cannot be used now due to the presence of flood water on the road and efforts are underway to identify a new site to install a heliport.
Due to the damage to the Doomdooma-Baghjan bridge, all movement on the bridge has been suspended.
OIL had contacted the military for the construction of a Bailey bridge, but this can only be done after the water level has dropped, the company said.
Another bridge over Daisajan near Daisajan Tea Estate on the Tiphuk Kordaiguri road is also deteriorating due to flooding.
However, the environmental impact assessment by M / s ERM continues with the collection of air, water and soil samples from different parts of the area since June 4 as part of a study.
Due to public unrest, there was a loss of production of 88 tonnes of crude oil and 0.14 million standard cubic meters (MMSCM) of natural gas as of Thursday, the company added that operations had been discontinued in 13 oil wells and one gas well.
OIL said the cumulative production loss since May 27 due to bandwidths and blockages was 8,570 MT of crude oil, 10.99 MMSCM of natural gas.
