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OIL mulls alternate drilling to tame Baghjan well fire

By Ron Duarah

DIBRUGARH, Aug 19 - Oil India Limited is now seriously contemplating drilling of alternate wells in the vicinity of the Baghjan oilwell number 5. This is because the high pressure gas yielding Baghjan 5 well could not be contained till now, despite experienced experts doing their job. The 80 feet tall flare at Baghjan continues to burn non stop since June 9, after the well �misbehaved� earlier on May 27. The well is said to be belching out almost 90,000 cubic metres of gas per day. Since May 27, all this has gone waste.

The long term measure of drilling �relief wells� to plug the Baghjan sub surface reservoir perforations will take its own time and resources. Under this plan one or more new rigs would drill into the reservoir to ease the gas pressure on the ruptured wellhead. A couple of short term measures have also been brought up by the Crisis Management Team experts. A clearer picture will emanate in the coming days.

An OIL press note issued today said, � the well condition is being assessed for continuing with the well control operations. In the meanwhile several other options like drilling of relief wells are being actively evaluated. State Government has again been requested to allot land for drilling relief wells.�

The State Government will have to acquire land at Baghjan for OIL where these secondary drilling activity will take place, for the final, long term plugging of one of India�s longest lasting oilfield disasters. Baghjan was OIL�s �milch cow� revenue earner in the Tinsukia district operations of the PSU. This has now gone sour.

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