TRACING THE BLOWOUT: Gas well blowout at Tinsukia OIL field

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TINSUKIA: The gas blowout that started on May 27 was allegedly due to human error and negligence on the part of a Gujarat-based outsourcing company. According to information, the incident happened while 'Work over Operations' was going on to produce gas from a new sand (oil-and-gas bearing) reservoir at a depth of 3,729 metres after de-installing the 'Blow Out Preventer' (BOP).

A source told The Sentinel that a technical team of OIL — after thoroughly cementing that sand bed on the evening of May 26 — also advised the outsourcing company not to work on that cemented structure before 48 hours. Instead, that company — in order to speed up the job – allegedly started working on that structure on May 27 which resulted in the blowout.

Usually the 'Work over Operation' is carried out under the supervision of OIL technicians; but that day, the outsourcing company carried out the work on its own, informed sources.    

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