Assam: Fire at Dibrugarh urea plant triggers safety probe after suspected gas leak

A suspected gas leak sparked a fire at the Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (BVFCL) complex in Assam’s Dibrugarh district on the evening of December 7, raising fresh questions about safety at the region’s only urea-producing facility.

Officials said the blaze began in the compressor house of the Namrup urea plant and was contained within an hour. BVFCL senior manager Pankaj Kumar Gogoi confirmed that the company’s two in-house fire tenders brought most of the flames under control before additional units from Oil India Ltd, Assam Petrochemicals Ltd and Naharkatia arrived to assist.

A technical team is expected to assess the extent of the damage, though early reports indicate no injuries among staff.

The Namrup plant, operational since 1969 and reconstituted as BVFCL in 2002, remains strategically significant as eastern India’s only urea manufacturer. It also holds the distinction of being the country’s first facility to produce nitrogenous fertiliser using associated natural gas.

The incident comes at a time of expansion for the site. A new brownfield ammonia-urea entity, Assam Valley Fertilizer and Chemical Company Ltd (AVFCCL), was incorporated in July, following Union Cabinet approval in March for an additional plant within the BVFCL premises. Safety standards at the ageing complex are now likely to face renewed scrutiny as authorities review Sunday’s fire.