Guwahati: The All Assam Engineers’ Association (AAEA) congratulated the crisis management team of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) for successfully capping crude oil well 147A under the Rudrasagar oilfield on 27 June.
The association also acknowledged the efforts of three foreign well-control experts who assisted in the operation.
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Meanwhile, AAEA urged the state-sponsored Maharatna company to announce adequate compensation for the affected villagers. These villagers had to abandon their homes for two weeks due to the high-pressure gas blowout.
The forum of graduate engineers based in northeast India raised a pertinent question: How many days does the country’s largest crude oil and natural gas company need to announce a compensatory package for over 330 Asomiya families, who lived around the affected well and had to be evacuated to avoid any mishap?
ONGC’s New Delhi-based corporate communications team had earlier admitted that “during service operations on 12 June, a blowout occurred at Well RDS#147A, and gas gushed out.”
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After 16 days of relentless effort, the team of experts successfully capped the well, effectively bringing an end to the gas discharge.
“This marks the successful culmination of the capping operation and stands as a testament to ONGC’s engineering excellence, meticulous planning, and strong collaboration with global and local partners,” the ONGC statement said. It further claimed that the team executed the capping with utmost safety, without a single injury, fatality, or incident of fire.
ONGC also claimed to have maintained full transparency throughout the operation, issuing daily press releases over the fortnight to keep all stakeholders informed, and committing to uphold the “highest standards of safety, environmental responsibility, and operational excellence” at every stage of the mission.
Notably, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, during a site visit on 16 June and while interacting with locals taking shelter in a relief camp, announced an aid of Rs 25,000 per family from the CM’s relief fund for those affected by the blowout.
He communicated with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and also met ONGC Chairman Arun Kumar Singh, who reportedly assured adequate compensation to the affected residents.
The engineers’ forum questioned the ONGC management on why it was delaying the announcement of the compensation.
“Did a private firm named SK Petro Services manage the well, possibly under a compromised mechanism that declared it dry or old, and is that why ONGC wants to avoid accountability?” asked AAEA President Er Kailash Sarma, Working President Er Nava J. Thakuria, and Secretary Er Inamul Hye.