Another Baghjan mission fails

Another Baghjan mission fails as the gas diversion attempt failed and the fire continues. Earlier the Oil India Limited (OIL) on Monday had finally managed to douse the fire that broke out in Baghjan No 5 oil well, 104 days after it erupted, by diverting the flow of gas from the well to the temporarily constructed flare pits.

A team of 100 officers, engineers and technicians carried out the operation which was led by Chief General Manager of Drilling, Manash Kamal Kakoty. A six team member of foreign experts was also involved in the operation.

"Change in technology and strategy seems to have borne fruits as the first step of today's operation of diverting the massive gas flow from the blowout well was successful," said OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika.

OIL authorities are however still observing several other parameters to ascertain if the gas diversion efforts are fully successful.

OIL successfully installed a Blow Out Preventer (BOP) at Baghjan no 5 oil well on August 17 but fire dousing operations failed due to technical issues. The fire has now been finally extinguished after three weeks of repeated attempts.

On May 27, a blowout occurred in Baghjan no 5 oil well and the same oil well caught fire on June 9, killing two firefighters of the OIL. Villagers had to be evacuated due to the massive fire. Atleast 12 houses were damaged in the incident.

However till the writing of this report, no official statement has been made by OIL.