OIL lost Rs 148 crore due to Assam well blowout: Pradhan

• The blowout at a gas well resulted in the closure of a number of producing oil and gas wells in and around Baghjan in Tinsukia district due to protests by locals, the minister said

• The revenue loss due to gas-burning uncontrollably into the atmosphere from the blowout well could not be ascertained, he added

New Delhi: State-run Oil India Limited (OIL) lost Rs 148 crore in revenue in the aftermath of the well blowout in its oilfield in Assam's Baghjan, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. The gas leak that began on May 27 in Baghjan was plugged only recently after 110 days. In the aftermath of the incident, OIL had to shut down oil and gas wells in the vicinity which resulted in loss of revenue for the state-run company, said Pradhan. "The blowout at a gas well resulted in the closure of a number of producing oil and gas wells in and around Baghjan in Tinsukia district due to protests by locals," the minister told the Rajya Sabha.

Also read: OIL has lost 6,538 MT in crude oil production because of protests

"The closures of producing wells have resulted in an estimated revenue loss of about Rs 148 crore to the company during the period from May 27, 2020, to August 8, 2020," he said.

Assam well blowout: Revenue loss from gas-burning could not be ascertained

"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. The gas leak, that began in May, had caught fire on June 9 and had caused substantial damage to property and life in the biodiversity zone. The fire was later confined to the mouth of the well until being completely extinguished on September 13. 

3-member inquiry panel to look into incident: Pradhan

The minister said that a three-member inquiry panel has been constituted 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. Pradhan added that 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 the incident.

"There has been the impact on the nearby areas because of the heat and noise generated from the blowout well of 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," the minister added.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)