Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Sep 09, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Sep 09, 2005 |
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Corporate
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Accidents Fire at ONGC's well in K-G basin; no casualties Ch.R.S. Sarma
Rajahmundry , Sept. 8 A BLOWOUT occurred on Thursday morning in an exploratory well of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the Krishna-Godavari basin at Thandavapalli in the vicinity of Amalapuram in East Godavari district. The rig was ruined, but there were no casualties, and the flame died down by evening, according to Mr A.A Khan, the Asset Manager. Briefing newspersons late evening Mr Khan said the blowout occurred at 11.30 a.m. "in spite of all the safety precautions," but there were no casualties or even injuries to the personnel. "Fortunately, all the 20 employees are quite safe," he said. Mr Khan said that as a precautionary measure people in two villages in the vicinity were evacuated and the crisis management team headed by Mr K. Satyanarayana was in-charge of the blowout control operation. He said the ONGC was requisitioning help from the US partner, Boots and Coots Ltd, and four experts would come here from Houston, if necessary. He added that the ONGC crisis management team, headed by Mr K. Satyanarayana, would, however, be in-charge of the operation. "We are mobilising the equipment and men from Narsapur in West Godavari district and we are confident of capping the well soon. We have greater expertise now than in 1995, when the Pasarlapudi blowout occurred. Moreover, this one is not of the same intensity. In fact, the flame died down by evening, but we cannot be absolutely sure. It may flare up again, but we are confident of bringing it under control," he said. Mr Khan said that out of the 200 exploratory wells there was the possibility of a blowout in one. "In spite of all the precautions and standard procedures, it may occur. Our success rate is on a par with that of the world's best oil companies," he said. He said the rig was worth Rs 20 crore, but it had been bought 20 years ago. "Its present value may be Rs 1.5-2 crore. Anyway, it has been insured," he added. Four vehicles were also damaged in the incident. In response to a question, Mr Khan said a blowout control system was in operation, but "in an exploratory well it may sometimes so happen that these controls may not help. In a development well, they may be of greater help."
Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, the State Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, directed the District administration to shift the affected families to safer places and take up necessary relief and rehabilitation measures. To support ONGC's Crisis Management Team, the fire control wing of the Vizag Steel Plant has been asked to rush to the area and take up necessary remedial measures. Our Kolkata Bureau adds: Talking about the K-G basin fire, the ONGC Chairman, Mr Subir Raha, said here that no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident. When asked why such blow-outs recur in the Rajahmundry area, Mr Raha said that the block was known to be a high pressure zone which can often lead to such accidents. Interestingly enough, the accident has made the ONGC chief hopeful of striking rich reserves in the particular on-shore block. "Such incidents generally prove that there is good quantity of hydrocarbon reserve in the area," he said. "The silver lining in the whole incident is that it leads us towards another future discovery," sources said, allaying fears that the fire would exhaust the precious natural gas in the reserve.
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