Authorities battle Assam oil well fire

September 15, 2005

slug=Authorities+battle+Assam+oil+well+fire & id=78781 & category=National

NDTV Correspondent

Thursday, September 15, 2005 (Dibrugarh):

Experts in Assam are fighting a huge fire at Dikom oil well, which is

spreading fast.

The well in Dibrugarh district belongs to Oil India Ltd.

It is rated as Assam's worst oil well fire as 25 fire-fighting

vehicles and specialists from ONGC and OIL are battling to control it.

Crude, leaking from the well since Tuesday is thought to have

triggered the fire.

Dikom is one of Oil India Ltd's most productive oil wells. It

produces more than 85 kilolitres every day.

The spill, which started on Tuesday, is not the first at the

facility. In 1992, there was an explosion in the same well.

In 2001, there was a similar blowout – a term used when the spill

goes out of control causing potential fire hazard.

Heavy loss

It generally takes two to three days to stop the uncontrolled flow

and involves a huge cost.

One kilolitre of crude costs Rs 10,000 and spills sometimes result in

a daily loss of more than Rs 1 crore. And to revive a well, it cost

several crores more.

Residents of the area are angry and allege that Oil India's wells

have poor maintenance. They say leaks and explosions from oil wells

adversely affect the lives of people and their environment.

" We have informed the OCS about the spill but they ignored it till it

exploded. We have been asking them to ensure safety mechanisms here

but till a disaster happens they don't seem to be bothered. We have

decided that we will not allow them to drill oil here until they

provide us safety measures, " said a local resident.

After containing the fire at Dikom, OIL will have to probe the cause

of the spill that caused the fire. And to ensure the safety of the

local people if the well is to be revived.

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