The Pollution Control Board, Assam, (PCBA) has issued notice to Oil India Limited (OIL) to close down all production and drilling operations in the Baghjan area of eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district.
The closure notice, issued on June 19, is likely to hit the production of crude oil from 17 wells and natural gas from four in the greater Baghjan oilfield where one of the gas wells — Number 5 — had a blowout on May 27 before bursting into flames on June 9.
A blowout is an uncontrolled escape of crude oil or natural gas at a great speed due to technical malfunction.
The PCBA accused OIL of not adopting safety and precautionary measures and flouting rules of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, while undertaking drilling and production operations.
The order, addressed to OIL’s resident chief engineer at Duliajan in the adjoining Dibrugarh district, pointed out that the blown-out well is “just 500 metres” from the Maguri-Motapung wetland that is part of the eco-sensitive zone of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. “OIL is destroying the aquatic life of the national park and the wetland of endangered species in the name of exploring oil without any mitigation measures,” the order said.
A month ago, the Environment Ministry had given OIL the environmental clearance for extended-reach drilling at seven locations under the national park. The technology involved allows drilling horizontally below the surface from beyond the boundary of the park.
PCBA chairperson Y. Suryanarayana said the order was served after the expiry of a week’s time from June 10 when OIL was issued a show-cause notice.
‘Impossible order’
OIL officials said closing the wells will lead to a major energy crisis across the industrial belts of eastern Assam. “While the 17 crude oil wells in the Baghjan area produce 1,200 kilolitres per day, the four gas wells produce 2 million metric standard cubic metres [MMSCM] per day, which is significant considering our total daily gas production of 7 MMSCM in Assam,” a spokesperson said.
“This is an impossible, ill-advised order since shutting down a crude oil or gas well is not a case of closing some tap. We will have to kill the wells over a period of time to comply with the order and start all over again with drilling when allowed to,” he explained.
Senior OIL officials said they were exploring the legal route for getting the order stayed.
Tea estates worried
More than 20 tea estates in Tinsukia district are facing closure owing to the disruption in gas supply associated with the protests against OIL over the well blowout and fire.
Villagers and local organisations have since been disrupting OIL’s operations across eastern Assam, resulting in a cumulative production loss of 7,627 metric tonnes of crude oil and 9.87 MMSCM of natural gas.
The Assam Gas Company Limited supplies the OIL-produced gas to the estates in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts to consumers through a grid of pipes. Tea estates are dependent on the gas for drying leaves and other activities.
“We have written to the Tinsukia district administration about the fluctuating supply of gas affecting 22 tea estates. This may lead to temporary closure or even shut-down of tea estate factories and loss of employment for many workers,” said Madhurjya Barooah, secretary of the All Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA).
One of the reasons has been the shutting down of the supply grid by villagers in the Doomdooma area of the district.