Blowout at Oil India's Baghjan Oilfield in Tinsukia, hundreds evacuated

Guwahati: In a sensational incident, the producing well of Baghjan 5 under Baghjan Oilfield of Oil India Limited in Tinsukia district of Assam on Wednesday became active while work over operations were on, triggering the evacuation of several hundred locals to safer areas.

Immediately after the mishap that transpired around 10:30 am in the morning, the ongoing operations were immediately suspended and the well started releasing natural gas in an uncontrolled manner.

The Oil India, in a statement said, "All efforts have been made to mobilize men and equipment at the site so that the well can be brought under control. Further, the Crisis Management Team from ONGCL, Nazira has been mobilized to assist OIL's efforts to control the well at the earliest."

The blow out happened while work over operations were going on to produce gas from a new sand (oil and gas bearing reservoir) at a depth of 3,729 metres. "Earlier, the well was producing around 1lakh Standard Cubic Metre per day (SCMD) of gas from a depth of 3,870 metres", Oil India informed.

Workers have reached the site and preventive measures such as the spraying of water and the installation of a BOP (Blow out Preventer) have been undertaken by a team of experts. Efforts have been made to vacate the local residents residing within the vicinity of the well to safe places and arrangements have been made for their food and lodging also. Meawhile, experts from OIL have reached the site and all-out efforts are on to control the situation from spiraling further out of control.

The workover operations were being carried out by Chartered Hire Rig owned by M/s John Energy under the supervision of OIL. It is pertinent to mention here that the area is designated as an ESZ (Eco-Sensitive Zone) and is not too far away from the Dibru Saikhowa national park. Nearby villagers have been gripped by panic, and a hue-and-cry has ensued in the region.

"We are trying our best to control the situation. The entire fire tenders are in place they are trying to ensure there is no fire at the site. We have contacted the crisis management team of the ONGC Nazira. The main priority now is to ensure that the people in and around the site are safe and they are being shifted to a safe place", said said Tridiv Hazarika, the spokesperson of OIL.

This is a developing story. Keep following The Sentinel Digital for more timely updates.

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