ONGC seals leaking gas pipeline in Assam, averts major incident

The incident which took place at a place called Geleki in Nazira was not close to any residential area and did not entail evacuations.

A major incident was averted at Assam’s Sibsagar district on Monday after the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) quickly sealed a natural gas pipeline that had suffered a leakage.

in July, the an explosion at the Baghjan gas well in Tinsukia injured three foreign experts. (PTI)

“The incident took place at a place called Geleki in Nazira. There was a leakage in a natural gas pipeline of ONGC in the afternoon and it was plugged within an hour. There was no major damage and no one was injured or evacuated,” said Sampriti Goswami, sub-divisional officer (civil), Nazira.

According to local reports, the incident took place at ONGC’s Rig No-2 at Seuj Chapori in Geleki. There were reports of a loud explosion due to the leakage. Officials of ONGC could not be contacted to confirm it.

Monday’s incident, which happened more than two months after a natural gas well of Oil India Limited (OIL) had a blow out in May and caught fire in June at Baghjan in Tinsukia district, had led to worries that something similar had happened. The Baghjan fire is still blazing.

“The leakage was substantial and there was some sound as well. But thankfully nothing major happened. Unlike what’s being reported, the incident didn’t happen close to a residential area and there were no evacuations,” said Goswami.