Severe lapses on the part of Oil India Limited(OIL) has been said to be responsible for the Baghjan oil well blowout, which has severely affected the animals, environment and human lives.
The blowout of the production oil well of Baghjan took place on May 27.
Sources informed that on May 26, workover was going on at the Baghjan oil well site to enhance the production of crude oil from the oil field.
Baghjan and Barekuri oil field in Tinsukia are the two major oil fields of Oil India Limited which produces maximum crude oil.
Earlier, the Baghjan 5 oil well has been producing 1 lakh Standard Cubic Metre per day(SCMD) of gas from a depth of 3870 metres.
“On May 26, cementing was done on the Baghjan 5 oil well and according to the Standard operation Procedure (SOP) drilling can be carried out only after 48 hours,” said a source.
“However, the official who was in charge of production and services gave the order for drilling on the said oil well only after 14 hours,” the source added.
“There was a blowout in the oil well owing to immense pressure when the pipes were inserted for drilling into the Baghjan 5 oil well,” the source further said.
According to reports, 10 pipes were inserted in the 3,700 meters rig. The pressure was 4,500 pounds per square inch(PSI).
According to OIL logbook records, executive director of products and services, OIL Rathindra Roy Choudhury was in charge of the whole production at Baghjan 5 oil well.
As per sources, Roy Choudhury was basically from the Information and Technology (IT) section.
But he shared a congenial relationship with OIL chairman Sushil Chandra Mishra and so the former was appointed as executive director of product and services in OIL
“Roy Choudhury is from the non-technical background and he is currently the Executive Director (Production & Services) of OIL. He is responsible for all production and drilling work of Oil India Limited,” the sources alleged.
The workover operation of Baghjan 5 oil well were being carried out by Chartered Hire Rig owned by M/s John Energy under the supervision of OIL.
“Due to the negligence on the part of the official the disaster took place. If the drilling was done according to the SOP, the mishap could have been averted,” said an OIL official seeking anonymity.
On the other hand, the three experts from Singapore reached Duliajan on Sunday evening to control the fire.
The Baghjan oil well caught fire on Tuesday and the fire engulfed the entire Baghjan area.
Talking to Northeast Now, a senior official of OIL said that right now they could not comment on the issue because the investigation is going on.