Incessant rains and the flood situation have caused another problem in Assam's Tinsukia district. Operations to control the blowout and fire in Oil India Limited's (OIL) natural gas well in Baghjan have hit a roadblock due to rains and floods.?
The connecting roads to the Baghjan well, which has been spewing gas uncontrollably for nearly 30 days, have been submerged in flood waters.
Presently, there is one connecting road, Plastic Park Road, which is narrow at places, making the movement of men and materials difficult.
A bridge between Doomdooma and Baghjan road was also damaged due to heavy rains since the last three days, an OIL statement said.
"The developments are severely affecting the progress and planning of work for capping the Well Number 5," the statement said.
On OIL authorities'' request, Army personnel will assess the condition of the bridge to plan their next course of action, it said.
Meanwhile, the impact on oil and gas production due to protests led to production loss of 88 MT of crude oil and 0.15 MMSCM of natural gas as reported on Wednesday, the PSU said.
Operations were disrupted in 14 oil wells and one gas well and cumulative production loss since May 27 last due to blockades is 8482 MT of crude oil and 10.85 MMSCM of natural gas, the OIL added.
Over 9,000 people are staying in 13 relief camps after the May 27 blowout. A fire broke out at the well on June 9, killing two fire fighters of the OIL.
Two OIL staffers have been suspended for alleged negligence of duty in the gas well blowout, a company official had said.