New Delhi: The damaged Oil India Limited well at Baghjan in Assam, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for 83 days, has been capped at last, reported EastMojo.
The site quoted OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika as having said that a Blowout Preventer or BoP stack has been placed on the head of the well.
The well number 5 at Baghjan in Tinsukia district has been spewing gas uncontrollably since May 27. It caught fire on June 9 killing two of OIL’s firefighters at the site. The fire is likely to be doused soon, now that the capping is over.
The Athey Wagon, a special vehicle to remove debris, has been removed, informed Hazarika. “The next leg of operation to kill the well will be initiated after the laying of the pipes which will take another three to four hours,” he told EastMojo.
Two attempts to cap the well, on July 31 and August 10, had failed.
Also read: What Is a Blow Out and How Does it Occur?
How was the capping done?
A press release by OIL on August 12 and covered by PTI had broken down the process of capping the well. It said that the enlargement of the flange bolt hole of the 11 inch spacer spool was done off site.
The new spacer spool was then transported to the site and connected with the BoP stack, following which a pressure test was conducted.
A BoP is a very heavy metal cover weighing several tonnes that is placed at the mouth of a gas or oil well to stop leakage of the fuel.
Another integral procedure was the rigging of the repaired bull lines with the Athey wagon, the equipment for fighting oil-field fires. The Athey wagon was also load tested.
Drilling and workover operation also continue to be affected at few of the locations due to forceful closure of operation, OIL has held.
According to OIL, a total of 2,756 families have been surveyed till August 11 in Doomdooma and Tinsukia Circle for assessment of damage for compensation. Environmental impact studies are still in progress.
(With PTI inputs)