Sivasagar ONGC gas leak: Final sealing work underway, displaced families await compensation

Efforts to seal the gas leak from an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) crude well at Bhatiapar in Sivasagar district have entered their final stages.

Officials from the ONGC said on Monday that the situation is under control, and the final capping of the leaking well is likely to be completed soon.

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The gas leak, which began nearly two weeks ago, had initially affected around 75 households in the immediate vicinity. However, it soon spiraled into a larger humanitarian crisis, impacting over 3,000 people as toxic gas emissions spread and forced mass evacuations.

Residents from nearby villages were shifted to relief camps, and many remain there as sealing operations continue.

International experts have joined ONGC’s Crisis Management Team in a technically complex and high-risk operation to secure the site.

The pressure inside the well has now reduced significantly, making it safer for engineers to proceed with final sealing. ONGC officials described the task as one of the most sensitive operations the company has undertaken in recent years.

A critical part of the capping process involves removing internal tubing from the structure using a long boom crane.

Over ten trailer-loads of rig components have already been dismantled and moved from the site, and the crane operation marks the last major step before the well can be permanently shut.

To prevent the risk of fire, ONGC has been conducting continuous ‘water blanketing’—a safety method that involves spraying water to suppress flammable gases. Specialised machinery and equipment are being deployed to expedite the sealing work.

In a public advisory issued recently, ONGC informed that residents living beyond a 500-metre radius of the well site can safely return to their homes. Scientific assessments have found no hydrocarbon presence beyond 30 metres from the wellhead, which the company described as a “positive development.”

The incident has sparked renewed concerns about environmental safety and disaster preparedness in Assam’s oil-producing zones.

Comparisons are already being drawn to the 2020 Baghjan gas blowout in Tinsukia district, which caused extensive ecological damage and displaced thousands of people for months.