Guwahati: Oil India Limited (OIL) suffered a severe setback in its attempt to plug the Baghjan well 5 in Tinsukia which has been on fire since June 9, when a wagon used in the process "toppled over".
According to reports, the experts at the site were attempting to place a blowout preventer (BOP) weighing nearly 3 tonnes, when the Athey Wagon, a type of hydraulic lift used to fight oil-field fires consisting of a track-mounted boom with a hook in one end, fell down.
In its statement, the PSU informed that the BOP stack was hooked up with the Athey Wagon for placing on the wellhead. While the final capping operation was being attempted, the Athey Wagon toppled over at the last moment and the attempt did not succeed. An investigation is underway to determine the next course of action.
The installation of the BOP was one of the last activities in the well-capping operations that have been underway since the blowout occurred. The "killing of the well" was expected to start post-installation of the BOP.
After the installation of the BOP, the experts were to inject a sludge-like mud into the well to push it back to the reservoir. OIL authorities have said that the operation is likely to be over by Thursday, July 30. However, the process is likely to be delayed further after the incident on Friday. Despite the setback, the well-capping operations are set to resume on Saturday morning.
It needs mention here that the well no. 5 had suffered a blowout during a workover operation, or maintenance work, to locate a new reservoir, on May 27. The well, which has been continually spewing gas and oil, caught fire on June 9, killing two firefighters. But floods, technical glitches, as well as burn injury of three foreign experts while attempting to douse the flames have led to several delays.
Meanwhile, a committee of experts headed by Justice Brojendra Prasad Katakey told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the oil well blowout on May 27 and the subsequent fire "could have been prevented."
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