Assam fire

A fierce fire broke out on 9 June 2020 in Bagjan oil well located in Tinsukia district of Assam.  There was uncontrolled gas leakage from the well for the last 14 days.  The fire in the oil well of Oil India Limited is so fierce that its flames can be seen from more than 30 kilometers away.

 Assam Environment and Forests Minister Parimal Sukhabaidya said that the Assam government is trying its best to control the fire.  But now the fire is spreading rapidly in the villages, due to which about 6 people of the villages have been injured.  According to media reports, there was uncontrolled gas leakage from the Bagjan oil well located in Tinsukia district of Assam for the last 14 days.

 The state government asked for help from the center

 Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal spoke to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the phone and sought immediate help in extinguishing the fire.  The fire in the well occurred when the cleanliness drive was going on there.  The central government has assured Sonowal of all possible help.  The Assam government has been told that the Air Force is also ready to help if needed.

 Experts come from Singapore

 Recently, a Singapore firm was called in to stop the gas leak following the oil spill in the Bagasan gas well of Oil India Limited in Tinsukia district of Assam.  The statement said that three Singaporean experts, who have been working since 08 June 2020 to stop the leakage of gas from the well, believe that the situation can be controlled and the well can be saved safely.  According to the statement, the entire campaign is likely to take four weeks, but the team of experts is working to reduce it.

 Problems with gas leakage control

 Gas leakage is very difficult to control because the pressure of gas leakage is very high.  Secondly, there is a possibility of fire at any time during the control work in the gas reserves.  This type of gas leak takes several months to automatically reduce pressure, so pumping water into gas wells can be an effective way to prevent gas fires.

 Gas leakage effect

 About 2,500 to 3,000 people have been evacuated from Assam and sent to relief camps.  River dolphins and many types of fish died from gas leakage.  Local people have complained of symptoms like eye irritation, headache etc.

 Assam's Oil Production Areas

 Digboi was the only oil producing region in Assam till 1956.  Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran are important oil producing regions in Assam.  Other important petroleum reserves are found in the east coast of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Rajasthan and Gujarat and Maharashtra.