Well-control operations continue at Baghjan oil well blowout site

A CORRESPONDENT

DOOMDOOMA: As part of initiatives to cap the well, a team of experts from M/s Alert visited the Baghjan oil well blowout site on Tuesday. At the same time, a team from 3 Corps of the Army carried out survey for constructing a Bailey Bridge over the natural pond near the well site.

OIL sent vehicles to 3 Corps Indian Army at Missamari for mobilizing material and personnel. Again, two bunk houses and one power generating set have been placed at the site after completion of civil work for development of the area. The first load of equipment/materials mobilized from ONGC-Rajahmundry reached Duliajan and was offloaded on Tuesday morning at OIL's CMT Yard, Duliajan for inspection by experts. The second load of equipment/materials mobilized from ONGC–Rajamundry is in transit.

Fabrication job was in progress at OIL's Engineering Workshop for fire hydrant manifold and casing clamp to be required for the well-control operation. Fabrication job was also in progress at OIL's Engineering Workshop for two heat shields required for reducing heat hazard for the personnel working at the site.

Again, testing job was in progress for the second OIL CMT high-discharge water pump of capacity 2500 GPM to be used for well control operation. Similarly, civil work was also in progress for digging/extension of the second CMT water reservoir (Capacity 12000 KL) near the 'kill pump' area to accommodate more volume of water. Delivery line-laying work was in progress from the river bank station to the reservoir. So also the civil work was completed for development of debris laydown and killing the pump area. Testing for additional water pump at the water pump station at Dangori river bank was undertaken along with the above works. Erection job of heat shield in front of the second CMT pump station in the well site also was in progress. Joint inspection of equipment, mobilized from ONGC- Sibsagar by M/s Alert and ONGC CMT team at OIL CMT Yard in Duliajan was also going on smoothly. On the other hand, due to continued agitation programmes, there was production loss of 458 MT of crude oil and 0.49 MMSCM of natural gas as reported on June 15. The cumulative production loss since May 27 due to bandhs and blockades is 5844 MT crude oil and 7.53 MMSCM of natural gas. As a part of relief and rehabilitation under OIL's CSR 'Project Sparsha', doctors and paramedics have been conducting health screening and also providing free medicines to the people in the relief camps. Apart from health screening of more than 2,000 people in the last three to four days, awareness on health and hygiene was also carried out.

Under 'Project Arogya', till date more than 9,000 people in the relief camps were provided with hygiene kits, sanitary napkins, baby care kits and disinfectants. To assess the cause of tremor, civil work for installation of broadband seismographs was being undertaken. In the meantime, officials from CSIR-NEIST (North East Institute of Science and Technology) were called by the Chief Minister's office to discuss the work to be undertaken under the guidance of the State Government.

Meanwhile, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, and members of the Ajmal Foundation, Tai-Ahom Yuba Parishad and Bit Lachit Sena visited Baghjan and interacted with the affected people in the relief camps.

Also Watch: In an exclusive conversation with Diptanil Barua only on The Sentinel Assam