Baghjan gas blowout: Senior officials of Petroleum Ministry held detailed discussion with US specialists on oil and gas disaster control

Detailed discussions were held on Friday between senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas along with the CMDs of OIL (Oil India Limited) and ONGC, the Crisis Management Team and other experts with senior officials of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and US specialists on oil and gas disaster control, regarding the containment of the blowout and fire in the gas well of OIL, Baghjan, Assam's Tinsukia district.

The foreign experts from Singapore also attended the meeting.

"The US side shared their experience in dealing with similar gas blowout incidents in the US. The Indian side elaborated the entire spectrum of ongoing efforts at Baghjan to contain the fire and also preparations for capping the well, including from the perspective of preventing the spread of fire, water management system, removal of debris, use of modern technologies including drones and eventual remediation process to cap the well," an official press release from the Ministry read.

The US DOE and experts have "broadly endorsed the steps taken so far by OIL and ONGC experts, and also the plans outlined in containing the fire as well as to cap the well".

Both sides have decided to exchange the view again in the coming days and also review the progress on capping the well. The discussions were held as part of the ongoing India-US strategic energy partnership, the release stated.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) had on Thursday constituted a three-member high-level committee to inquire about the circumstances that led to the blowout incident at Baghjan in Assam.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month.

The three-member committee comprising SCL Das, DG of Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, BC Bora, former chairman ONGC and TK Sengupta, former Director, ONGC will identify the lapses in following protocols and procedures which led to the accident.

The committee will also recommend short and long-term measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents including identification of any gaps in the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs).

( With inputs from ANI )