GUWAHATI: In a relief to the Oil India Limited (OIL), the Pollution Control Board of Assam (PCBA) has withdrawn its “closure notice” served on the oil exploration major but on conditions.
The development came even as the OIL was mulling moving the court seeking a stay on the notice that was issued on June 19, 10 days after an oil well of the OIL at the Baghjan Oil Field in Assam’s Tinsukia had caught fire following a blowout – or uncontrolled emission of natural gas – that occurred on May 27.
The PCBA had directed the OIL to shut down all the production as well as drilling operations of installations at the site.
In a letter to the OIL’s Resident Chief Executive on Monday, the PCBA directed the OIL to submit a detailed and time-bound environmental management plan within 15 days for environmental mitigation and extinguishing of fire and apply for consent to operate for each and every drilling, production and other installations along with environmental management plan and requisite documents within one month.
“They have to submit all details of hazardous wastes generated, disposed and treatment facilities as per the Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Trans-boundary Movement) Rules, 2016. They have to apply for authorization under E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and take necessary action for proper disposal of E-waste,” the PCBA letter read.
It further asked the OIL to submit the return as per Batteries (Management & Handling) Rules, 2001 framed under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 within July 31.
Earlier, the OIL warned that if it was made to leave the site suddenly, there would be serious immediate implications.
“Closure may take months. We have to kill each well so that there is no danger to surrounding areas. The valve cannot take pressure for a long time and there will be blowout after blowout,” a spokesman of the OIL had said.
The OIL has 17 crude oil wells at the site and the combined production per day is 1,200-kilo litres. The number of the OIL’s gas wells there is five but production has been disrupted at one due to the blowout and fire. The four others together produce two million metric standard cubic metres of natural gas per day.
Meanwhile, the fire at Oil Well No 5 at Baghjan is still raging. Experts, including some flown in from Singapore, are working at the site to douse the inferno. The fire is being fed by the well’s oil.
Two firefighters of the OIL had lost their lives in the inferno. Earlier, the Centre, Assam government and OIL had ordered separate probes into the incident.