Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Tuesday said he reviewed and took update on 'well control' activities being carried out by ONGC in Assam to control the gas leakage. In a post on X social media platform, the minister said the gas flow has continued since the past four days due to the extraordinarily high pressure in the well.
“The local residents had been immediately evacuated on day 1 and are being provided with all the relief and assistance adequately. Competent personnel have been brought from other work centres of ONGC and very high capacity fire pumps, frack pumps, muds, etc are all working at the site to control the fire,” Puri mentioned.
The Union Minister also informed that high tech methods such as “junk pumping“ are also being deployed and ONGC officers are in constant touch with international overseas experts.“A water blanket is continuously being maintained for cooling effect and to prevent fire,” he mentioned.
According to ONGC, it has deployed its most experienced Crisis Management Team (CMT), a team with a proven track record in managing complex well control operations, to contain the gas leakage at Well RDS#147.
The operation is being closely and continuously monitored by ONGC’s top management. “Geological challenges are inherent to oil and gas operations, and as India’s premier energy company, ONGC follows stringent safety protocols.
ONGC is making all out efforts to bring the gas leak under complete control at the earliest,” said the company. Following the incident, ONGC, in close coordination with the District Administration, undertook the safe evacuation of affected families, ensuring secure shelters, nutritious food, clean drinking water, and essential daily supplies.
To safeguard public health, ONGC has established free round-the-clock medical camps staffed with doctors and equipped with essential medicines, as part of its comprehensive emergency response.
ONGC is maintaining continuous communication with all stakeholders, including the district and police administrations, media, and local community leaders, to ensure transparency and swift action.