Guwahati: The second attempt to shut Oil India’s damaged well at Baghjan in Assam, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for 76 days, failed Monday. This happened when the iron cable to lift the lid snapped, Oil India said. This was the second attempt to close the damaged well in 10 days.
The company said in a statement that when the blow out preventer (BOP) stack alignment was underway to insert the studs one of the two bull lines connected with the ‘Athey Wagon’, came out from the socket due to excessive heat. ‘Athey Wagon’ is the equipment for fighting oil field fire which was lifting it,.
“From the safety point of view and stability required for alignment of the BOP stack on the well head, experts decided to safely remove the BOP stack from the well head. Operations will resume after carrying out necessary rectification jobs,” the statement added.
The BOP is a very heavy metal cover weighing several tonne which is placed at the mouth of any gas or oil well to stop leakage of the fuel from under the ground.
Oil India Ltd (OIL) spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika said that experts were trying to put the blow out preventer (BOP) at the mouth of the well. The BOP is on fire since June 9, but the wire snapped due to excessive heat.
“After placing the BOP at the well mouth, experts tried to fit the spools. But as there was constant fire, the cable broke. Our experts are working to repair the cable. As soon as it is ready, we will try again,” Hazarika stated.
The first attempt to shut the damaged gas well had faced a setback when the wagon or hydraulic lift used to put a lid on the mouth gave in and toppled over July 31.
Well number 5 at Baghjan in Tinsukia district has been spewing gas uncontrollably since May 27 and it caught fire June 9, killing two of OIL’s firefighters at the site.