ONGC well in Assam capped after 16 days of gas leakage: Hardeep Singh Puri

ONGC well in Assam capped after 16 days of gas leakage: Hardeep Singh Puri

ONGC on Friday successfully capped the blowout of its crude oil well in Assam's Sivasagar district after 16 days of gas leakage from there, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister said the capping was done without any injury, casualty or fire.

"ONGC has successfully capped the blowout of well RDS#147A at 1115 hours hrs today. This blowout started on 12th June and has been capped successfully within shortest possible time following all the best practices," Puri said in a post on X.

He said the crisis management team of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) along with the international well control experts "finally brought the curtains down on the gas well blowout through meticulous planning and concerted efforts in a safe manner, without any injury, casualty or fire, testifying the competency of crisis management".

Puri also thanked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state government officials for their support to the team on the ground.

The blowout took place on June 12 at Well No RDS 147A of Rig No SKP 135 of Rudrasagar oil field of ONGC at Barichuk in Bhatiapar. A private firm, SK Petro Services, was operating the well on behalf of the state-run Maharatna company.

Around 350 families were evacuated from the neighbouring areas as a safety measure, with the state government announcing ex-gratia of Rs 25,000 to each of the affected families.

Sarma, thanking Puri and ONGC for their capping efforts, also acknowledged the perseverance and cooperation of local people in the operation.

"Thank you Hon'ble Minister Shri @HardeepSPuriJi for your exceptional leadership and persistence in sealing the gas leak at #RDS147A, Sivasagar- which has been a great cause of concern for all of us," he said in a post on X.

He also acknowledged the tireless efforts put in by the ONGC team and members of the state administration.

"But above all, my deepest gratitude to the brave men and women of Sivasagar, especially those residing in the affected areas, for displaying extraordinary levels of perseverance and extending unstinted cooperation with all concerned agencies over the last two weeks," the chief minister added.

Sharing details of the capping process, an ONGC statement said, "At the break of dawn, ONGC's Crisis Management Team (CMT), along with experts from Cudd and local operations teams, commenced the critical operation to safely remove the damaged Blowout Preventer (BOP) from the wellhead." The effort was carried out with high precision and coordination to ensure stability and prevent any imbalance or toppling during the lifting process.

Once the BOP was safely removed, the pre-positioned capping stack, prepared at the staging area, was carefully and accurately placed onto the wellhead. This pivotal action redirected the gas flow securely to the top of the capping stack, ensuring containment and control, the statement said.

The capping stack was firmly installed and secured, following which the BOP was successfully closed, effectively bringing an end to the gas discharge from Well RDS#147A, it added.

Subsequent steps in the well control roadmap will now be taken up as per operational protocols.

The operation was executed with utmost safety, without a single injury, fatality or incident of fire, and ONGC maintained full transparency throughout the operation, issuing daily press releases over the fortnight to keep all stakeholders informed, the statement said.

The corporation extended its gratitude to the district and state administrations, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the local community for their support and cooperation.