Oil India Limited (OIL) flew in three more disaster-control experts from the U.S. and Canada late on Friday night to help control the Baghjan natural gas-producing well that burst into flames almost two weeks after a blowout.
Assam CM orders probe into Baghjan gas well fire
The exploration major had flown in three oil well disaster specialists from Singapore on June 8, a day before the Baghjan well in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district caught fire.
“Preliminary work of arranging facilities for the well control operation began today [on Saturday] after the six foreign experts carried out a joint survey of the site, along with our officials and specialists from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited,” a spokesperson said from the OIL headquarters at Duliajan in the adjoining Dibrugarh district.
13 days after blowout, Oil India Limited well in Assam catches fire
While equipment and material from ONGC’s facility in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar were being unloaded at the site, more equipment sent by road from ONGC’s operations in Andhra Pradesh were yet to arrive.
The intensity of the protests at OIL installations across eastern Assam lessened on Saturday. Members of various organisations continued to protest and block operations at 26 crude oil and gas wells, down from 79 on Friday.
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“The production loss on Saturday was 500 metric tonnes of crude oil and 0.46 million metric standard cubic meter per day of natural gas due to the protests,” the spokesperson said.