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Guwahati: In light of the recent gas leakage from a crude oil well in Sivasagar, the All Assam Engineers Association (AAEA) has raised serious concerns over the management of “abandoned” oil and gas wells in Assam. The forum has demanded that ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL) take clear responsibility for such wells, especially when private parties operate them but shirk accountability in the event of accidents.
In a strongly worded statement, AAEA questioned the transparency and integrity of ONGC and OIL officials in declaring wells as “dried up” or “old,” which later turn out to be active and are handed over to private operators. “It’s suspected that some officials may be declaring resource-rich wells as dry to allow private parties access—possibly with an underhanded deal for personal gain,” alleged AAEA president Er Kailash Sarma, working president Er Nava J Thakuria, and secretary Er Inamul Hye.
They cited past disasters like the 2020 Baghjan blowout in Tinsukia and the current Bhatiapar-Bari Chuk leak in Sivasagar as examples where mismanagement and poor oversight led to serious accidents. Both incidents involved wells assumed to have no significant reserves but were later found to be operational under private hands—raising red flags over the classification process.
The engineers’ body has also called upon the Union government to enforce accountability and set up a monitoring mechanism for such declarations by ONGC/OIL officials. They emphasized the urgent need for India to develop its own well disaster response teams, pointing out the embarrassing dependence on foreign experts from Canada or the USA during crises.
AAEA stressed that the ongoing issues highlight a dangerous lack of lessons learned from previous disasters, and unless immediate reforms are made, such mishaps may continue to put lives, property, and the environment at grave risk.
