Baghjan Blowout: Union Minister reviews fire situation

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday held a review meeting through videoconferencing with the onsite crisis management team of the Baghjan oilfield blowout.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Wednesday said that around 1600 families had been evacuated from the affected areas of the oilfield in Tinsukia and have been shifted to relief camps. The Ministry said that Oil India Limited has decided to provide an amount of Rs 30,000 the affected families as immediate relief.

In astatement released by the ministry, "The well was planned to be capped by following the advice ofexperts and taking all safety precautions. While the clearing operations weregoing on at the well site, the well caught fire on June 9, 2020, around noontime,spreading the fire in an area of about 200 metres around the well site."

"It has been reported that except at the well-plinth area, the fire around the site has mostly extinguished," it said. "However, the burning of gas at the well's mouth will continue until the well is capped."

The debris of burnt rig, fire engines, and other material around the well site will be removed before any operation can be started to cap the well. The statement said arrangements of continuous water supply will have to be made before activities are undertaken at the site which is likely to take 5-6 days to make these arrangements, and all the operations will take about four weeks to complete.