Spl Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Feb 3: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Wednesday said that the report of the High Level Committee on Baghjan blowout has been accepted by the Government of India and Oil India Limited (OIL) has been asked to take action on the recommendations of the report and also on the officers responsible for lapses.
In a Rajya Sabha reply, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Directorate General of Mines and Safety (DGMS) did not constitute the committee.
A three-member ‘High Level Committee’, headed by Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons SCL Das and comprising former Chairman of ONGC BC Bora, former Director of ONGC TK Sengupta was constituted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on June 11, 2020 to inquire into the incidence of fire at Baghjan oilfield of OIL in Tinsukia district of Assam.
In addition, another committee was constituted by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) and it has also submitted its report. The High Level Committee constituted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken into account the recommendations of the OISD committee also, Pradhan said.
The major recommendations of the two committees include preparation of workover plan by a multi-disciplinary team, safety audit of all rigs and installations on annual basis, safety training to officers of all levels, development of a strong crisis management team, and well control training for workover rig personnel.
Moreover, an additional standard operating procedure in cross-sections of work based on statutory requirements, introduction of IT-enabled system for drilling, workover and production operations, invoking of provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 and rules in case of blowout, competency mapping for all key personnel and preparation of detailed guidelines to be followed after blowout were also recommended.
