State-owned Oil India Ltd lost Rs 148 crore in revenue in 100 days due to the closure of oil and gas wells in the vicinity of the Baghjan fire in Tinsukia, Assam, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed on Wednesday.
“The revenue loss due to gas-burning uncontrollably into the atmosphere from the blowout well could not be ascertained as no measurement was possible due to fire and extreme heat,” Pradhan said.
He also said that the ministry has constituted a three-member inquiry committee to look into the incident.
“In addition, inquiry committees have also been set up by Directorate General of Mines & Safety (DGMS), and Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD), Government of India,” he said. “The report submitted by OISD suggests that pulling out of drill pipe and nipple down Blowout Preventer before complete settling of cement is the root cause of incidence.”
The well was producing 80,000 standard cubic meters per day (SCMD) of gas from a depth of 3,870 meters before the blowout in May, according to OIL.
Just a kilometre from the field is Maguri-Motapung wetlands, an ecotourism site. State-owned sanctuary Dibru Saikhowa national park renowned for migratory birds is about 2.5km away.
“There has been an impact on the nearby areas because of the heat and noise generated from the blowout well of the Baghjan field,” Pradhan said.
“The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has been engaged for Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) monitoring and Bioremediation, North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) for Seismological Study and IIT, Guwahati for heat impact through Thermal Imaging.