Assam govt orders high-level inquiry into Baghjan blowout incident

The Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered a high-level inquiry into the circumstances that led to a blowout at a gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) in Tinsukia Baghjan and a subsequent fire that killed two persons.

After the initial blowout on May 27^th, 2020, the BGR 5 oil well of Baghjan area was engulfed in a massive fire after a blast on June 9^th, 2020. A dense cloud of smoke was seen erupting out of Oil India BGR 5 well was seen.

This comes amid the backdrop of a team of experts arriving from Singapore to Assam, who reached the site on June 8^th, 2020.

The gravity of the problem is beyond the fire blast as many families have been affected. As per reports, local people are fleeing the areas and many are also being rehabilitated especially since the previous day.

Along with that animals including endangered dolphins have died as reported previously, due to the gas leakage from the BGR 5 well. Now, the situation is even worrying as the well is near the Dibru Saikhowa National Park Assam, which is designated as a biosphere reserve. It consists of pristine flora and fauna which stand to be the most affected in the current scenario.

This has created a national uproar regarding the seriousness of the situation with many alleging severe lapses on account of the OIL side: from outsourcing 3rd party companies to manage the well, failure of containment measures and total management failure.

Also read: Assam: Site workers allege OIL goof-up in Baghjan blast

High-level committee constituted

Almost a week after the incident at well number 5 of OIL at the Baghjan oilfield, the forest department constituted a 10-member high-level inquiry committee to access its impact on wildlife and the ecology in the national park and the wetland adjacent to the oilfield. The team constitutes a group of local experts from various institutions, including a professor from Tezpur University, and will be headed by Chief Wildlife Warden MK Yadav.

Prime Minister takes stock

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the tense situation of Baghjan during a telephonic conversation with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today.

The PM assured him of all cooperation to the people, who have suffered in the incident.

A few days ago, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also took stock of the situation and told the CM that experts from Singapore have been called urgently to handle the situation. He had also directed the joint secretary of the Petroleum Ministry to rush to the spot.

Also read: Assam: OIL says no-casualty in Baghjan blast, forgets to mention wildlife impact

The blowout

The blowout happened while workover operations were going on to produce gas from new sand (oil & gas-bearing reservoir) at a depth of 3,729 metres. Earlier, the well was producing around 1 lakh Standard Cubic Metre per day (SCMD) of gas from a depth of 3,870 metres,” an Oil India statement said.

An explosion or blowout means that there has been an uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well. This happens after pressure control systems fail.

The workover operations were being carried out by Chartered Hire Rig owned by John Energy under the supervision of OIL, an OIL statement said.

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