Indian Army personnel have constructed a bridge near the burning natural gas well in Assam’s Tinsukia, which will help in extinguishing the flames.
The 150 metre long Bailey bridge, constructed over a water body near the gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) at Baghjan which had a blow out on May 27 and caught fire on June 9, will help deliver water needed to control the fire and plug the blowout.
“Construction of the bridge is extremely critical for the task of controlling the fire as it provides the only access to the experts to approach the well. The experts now plan to lay a heavy-duty pipeline over the bridge to create a water umbrella for dousing the fire,” said an army release issued on Tuesday.
According to Guwahati-based army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel P Khongsai, construction of the bridge required the transportation of 233 metric tonnes of materials over a distance of 400km.
“150 specially trained troops undertook the task under extremely risky and hazardous conditions in the vicinity of the raging fire with working temperatures exceeding 75 degree Celcius,” the release said.
“Undaunted by the multitude of engineering challenges Army constructed the bridge in a short time of 24 hours on June 22 under heavy rainfall and extreme temperatures,” it added.
According to OIL, the pipeline over the bridge will carry water from the nearby Dangori River to the well.
A continuous and large volume of water is needed to control the fire and plug the blowout, uncontrolled release of gas and oil from a well when pressure systems fail.
“Laying of water delivery line over Bailey bridge has been completed on Monday after whole night work at the site. Connections for sourcing water from Dangori River are underway,” said an OIL release on Monday.
After the well caught fire, OIL had sought help from the army on June 14 for building the bridge.
The entire exercise of controlling the fire and plugging the blow out is expected to be completed by the first week of July.
The blowout on May 27 sparked an inferno that displaced thousands of people, spewed thousands of litres of oil and gas into the fragile ecosystem and wreaked havoc on the local wildlife.
There are 17 oil wells and five gas wells in the Baghjan oil field, which generates 1,200 kilolitres of crude oil and 1.5 to 2 million metric standard cubic metres of gas per day.
