Natural Gas Blowout at ONGC Well Successfully Controlled
After five days of intense efforts, the blowout of natural gas at the Mori-5 well in Irusumanda village, located in Andhra Pradesh’s Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema district, has been successfully extinguished, officials reported on Saturday.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced that it had successfully capped the Mori-5 well, achieving this milestone in just five days. This accomplishment is recognized as an important achievement in managing blowout emergencies.
According to ONGC, all operations concerning the Mori-5 incident have now been completed, and no further updates are anticipated regarding the situation. The corporation reiterated its commitment to safety and environmental standards in its operations.
T. Nisanthi, the district joint collector, informed the media that the blowout has been completely controlled. “The fire is out, and there are no remaining flames. We are currently focusing on capping the gas well and managing the site,” she stated.
The blowout occurred at approximately 12:30 PM on January 5, causing flames that soared 20 meters high and spread 25 meters wide. In light of the situation, local authorities swiftly evacuated around 600 residents from nearby villages, as a significant area of coconut plantations was destroyed by the fire.
An anonymous official revealed that it is estimated that around 300,000 cubic meters of gas was burned during the incident over the five days. The ONGC disaster management team has since cleared the debris from the site, and preparations are underway to install a blowout preventer at the well. A continuous water blanket was maintained to ensure safe operations around the wellhead.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu conducted an aerial survey on Friday to evaluate the damage from the blowout. Following this assessment, he held a review meeting with ONGC, district officials, and local leaders. The chief minister also inquired about the efforts to fully extinguish the blaze and instructed officials to accelerate compensation for farmers whose coconut trees were lost in the incident.
