The Centre has asked Oil India Limited (OIL) to take action on the recommendations of the high-level committee report on the Baghjan blowout in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
It has also asked the OIL to take action against the officers responsible for lapses, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
In a Rajya Sabha reply on Wednesday, Union minister Pradhan said a three-member ‘High-Level Committee’ was constituted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on June 11, 2020, to inquire into the incidence of fire at OIL’s Baghjan oilfield.
The committee headed by Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons SCL Das, was comprised of former Chairman of ONGC BC Bora and former Director of ONGC TK Sengupta.
In addition, another committee was constituted by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) and it has also submitted its report.
The panel set up by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken into account the recommendations of the OISD committee also, Pradhan said.
The major recommendations of the two committees include preparation of workover plan by a multi-disciplinary team, a safety audit of all rigs and installations on annual basis, safety training to officers of all levels, development of a strong crisis management team, and well control training for workover rig personnel.
Moreover, an additional standard operating procedure in cross-sections of work based on statutory requirements, the introduction of IT-enabled system for drilling, workover and production operations, invoking of provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 and rules in case of a blowout, competency mapping for all key personnel and preparation of detailed guidelines to be followed after blowout was also recommended.