The Baghjan well in the district of Tinsukia has been spewing gas uncontrollably for 32 days. (File)
Guwahati:
All work in progress to extinguish a fire in a damaged gas well in Baghjan, Assam, has been suspended, with flood water flooding the site and submerging the pumps installed to extinguish the fire, Major PSU Oil said on Saturday India Limited (OIL).
Well number 5 in Baghjan, Tinsukia district, has been uncontrollably spitting gas for 32 days following an eruption on May 27 and it caught fire on June 9, killing two of OIL’s firefighters.
The company said all the rivers in Baghjan and the surrounding area are rising rapidly, while the Dangori River overflows and submerged the pumps installed to put out the fire at the mouth of the well.
All roads connecting to the site are flooded with flood water and a key approach road has been closed by the Tinsukia district administration to all traffic.
This was done because the road to a bridge over the Maguri-Motapung Beel was severely damaged by the floodwaters and in many places, knee-deep water flows over it.
“The working conditions at the site were deemed unsafe and all operations were suspended for the day. Engineers from PWD and OIL jointly inspect the roads,” the company said in a statement.
OIL said that various assessments and impact studies of the eruption as well as the fire in neighboring villages and forest areas by several agencies are also on hold due to the flooding.
Regarding the relief and rehabilitation process, OIL said that damage assessment inquiries for compensation by a committee formed by the district administration were affected due to the heavy rains and floods.
So far, the assessment of 540 families has been completed in Doomdooma and Tinsukia circles, he added.
More than 9,000 people have been displaced from neighboring areas following the eruption and the fire that broke out in the gas well, and they are currently living in 13 relief camps.
The company said there was a drop in production of 88 tonnes of crude oil and 0.13 million standard metric cubic meters (MMSCM) of natural gas on Friday due to disruptions in 15 oil wells and one well gas.
“Cumulative production loss since May 27, 2020 due to bandwidths and blockages: 8,658 tonnes of crude oil, 11.12 MMSCM of natural gas”, according to the OIL press release.
