- The oil well, Baghjan 5, is one of the most bountiful of wells that Oil India Limited has.
- People within the radius of 1.5 kms to 2 kms have the right to feel scared as their livelihood is completely impacted.
On 27th May last, a blowout occurred at the Baghjan 5 oil well of Oil India Limited (OIL), located at Baghjan in Tinsukia District. After 14 days of high pressure gas leakage, the gas caught fire probably due to friction (as has been speculated) on the afternoon of 9th June. Ever since there is a live inferno that just refuses to be doused down.
While two fire fighters employed by Oil India Limited were found dead on 10th June, 4 more had sustained injuries. Two officials of OIL were suspended for negligence and John Energy Limited, the company that was outsourced to work on the Baghjan 5 well has been issued a notice. Investigations are currently being undertaken even as dousing the fire has taken prime importance.
News reports are coming in round the clock about damages that have been caused to the the neighbourhood and the environment. Social media platforms have raised voices against Oil India Limited, the government and every other stakeholder and campaigns like #BaghjanGasLeak , #BaghjanOilField, #Baghjan are becoming new trends.
So what actually happened at the Baghjan oil well?
The Baghjan area was found in 2003-04. The well that blew out is the fifth well to be drilled; hence it is named Baghjan 5. It was drilled in 2006-07 but production from it started only in 2015 due to various reasons. The well produces about 80,000 standard cubic metres of gas per day (SCMD) at a pressure of 2,700 PSI. “It is one of the most copious natural reservoirs of OIL,” said Tridiv Hazarika, Public Relations Officer of OIL.
As informed by Hazarika, the company had taken up repair works of the well head and also incorporate more outlets from the well. The earlier depth was 3,870 metres and work was undertaken to check the possibility of producing hydrocarbons from a shallower depth. “It’s a standard resource assessment exercise that OIL and all energy companies do,” said Hazarika.
As such, open tenders were floated and John Energy Limited of Gujarat was outsourced for the job. The project assigned included the “killing” (subduing) of the well and locating new outlets for the production of hydrocarbons.
While work was continuing on the same, and the well head was in the process of repair, the first blowout (an uncontrolled release of natural gas) took place when the Blow Out Preventor (BOP) was removed from the well. The BOP had to be removed for the repairs. However, the whole accident is currently being investigated.
The release of gas at 90,000 SCMD at a pressure of 4,200 PSI continued for the next 14 days. Questions were raised on the expertise and even the capabilities of OIL as experts had to be called in from Singapore to control the leakage and for the killing of the well.
Although crisis management experts from OIL as well as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGCL) were called in to tackle the crisis the same continued for 14 days without much result.
Former employees of Oil India Limited have opined that the company, even after more than 120 years in service, does not have the required experts to tackle such situations. “OIL has been related with the production of oil for over a century. Yet we do not have the necessary expertise to deal with such disastrous accidents. We bring in experts from Singapore, a country that has just refineries and imports oil from other countries,” commented a former employee of OIL, seeking anonymity.
Experts who have dealt with the Dikom well blowout of 2005 have said that for Oil India Limited the blowout was probably considered a regular accident and officials might not have considered the graveness of the issue.
Some even say that signs of such disasters can actually be gauged early and such accidents can be prevented.
“Prior to a blowout happening, the well gives some pressure hints. If we don’t read those properly, then accidents take place. I am sure this well also gave hints and the officials present there failed to read it,” a former OIL official who had looked after drilling operations told PTI.
Further adding, another expert said that killing fluids (chemical muds) are used to kill such natural gas sources. After ensuring for somw hours that there are no gas bubbles surfacing and the mouth has been sealed without any leakage, the final BOP is placed. Allegedly, the company conducting the operation did not wait long enough to consider the proper sealing of the source which resulted in the blowout.
“From the 2005 blowout at Dikom, Tinsukia to Baghjan in 2020, our engineers have faced various such field level challenges and such situations were handled with the equipments, technology and experience at our disposal. Eventually when the Baghjan blowout happened we were confident of containing it with the contraption we were developing with help from ONGC. For the first 10-12 days we were developing a hydraulically controlled BOP lender. We were confident of our approach and the experts were called in just for help and support. Unfortunately, the fire broke out on 9th June even before our operations could be launched,” said Tridiv Hazarika.
As of now, 3 experts are working on containing the fire and killing the well temporarily. These experts have been flown in from Alert Disaster Control of Singapore. Hazarika informed G Plus that three more experts would soon be arriving - two from the US and one from Canada.
How is OIL dealing with the live inferno?
Talking to G Plus, veterans of OIL said that there are two ways to control the fire - either by causing extraordinary blast at the mouth of the well to blow out the fire or wait till the source of gas is exhausted completely which would douse the fire naturally.
However, officials in OIL informed that exhaustion of the natural source of fuel to the fire might take years as the Baghjan 5 well is a mega natural reservoir. Reportedly, water reservoirs are being created near the mouth of the well and a constant ‘water umbrella’ is being maintained. The periphery of the well is currently being guarded.
Tridiv Hazarika said, “Dousing the fire is not possible for now. We are trying to bring down the velocity of the fire so that experts can approach the well head for killing of the gas source.”
“There is no threat to life and property now. Fire and condensive falling were the major threats which are now under control,” he added.
Demands of compensation
The natural gas leakage and subsequently the oil well blowout in Baghjan have affected the entire area. While the fire had burnt down about 50 houses of the villagers in the vicinity, severe damage has also been caused to the wildlife and biodiversity of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, the Dibru River and the nearby wetlands as well as to agricultural land.
Although damages done to the environment and the people in the neighbouring areas is well apparent, former employees of OIL and other concerned stakeholders have raised the credibility of the extent of damages as presented across various media platforms. Some have even pointed out the opportunistic behaviour of many organisations and unions who have been leeching off the company for years now.
Condemning the people who are trying to hog the limelight in seeking a share of the compensation that OIL would be delivering to the victims, a former employee said, “People should stand up for the century-old company and extend moral support to all officials fighting the crisis rather than having their own vested interests.”
When questioned about the same, Tridiv Hazarika said, “With a disaster of this proportion it’s natural for the people to be scared. Even houses were gutted down. For those people who are within the radius of 1.5 kms to 2 kms, they have the right to be scared as their livelihood is completely impacted. OIL will be compensating all those who are scientifically and physically impacted. We will be ensuring better positions for them then what they have lost.”
Allegedly, people from 5 -6 kms away who have not been impacted are also demanding compensation. The beneficiary lists have names that are trying to benefit from the disaster. As such OIL is investigating the actual damages caused and trying to gather the actual victims of the blowout. The district administration would be helping in this regard.
As for the environmental damages, a team from Assam Agricultural University is assessing the impact on vegetation. Oil India Limited has engaged a National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET)-accredited consultant to carry out environment impact assessment in and around Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Maguri Motapung Beel and the surrounding villages. Also The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been engaged for remediation of the damaged.
After the incident, affected people in the surrounding areas have been accommodated in 12 relief camps at a safer distance and Rs. 30,000 given as immediate relief to each of the 1610 affected families.
The purported damage to OIL
Experts of the industry peg the damages caused by the blowout at Rs. 200 crores to Rs. 300 crores – an amount which OIL might have to shell out eventually. However, Hazarika is of the opinion that, “Our focus is to mitigate the entire problem. OIL’s 150 year-old-legacy has taken a beating, that is the biggest loss. We want to regain the confidence of the stakeholders and the people on Oil India Limited. As for the financial and physical losses incurred, that is yet to be calculated.”
