Natural Gas Blowout in Andhra Pradesh: Ongoing Efforts to Control the Situation

Natural Gas Blowout Incident

Amaravati, Jan 6: A natural gas blowout at a well operated by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh has persisted into its second day as of Tuesday.

Crisis management teams from ONGC, along with firefighting crews, are actively working to manage the blowout near Irusumanda village in Malikipuram Mandal.

Officials have reported a decrease in the fire's intensity and anticipate further improvements throughout the day.

The blowout occurred unexpectedly on Monday afternoon during repair operations involving a workover rig, following a temporary halt in production at the Mori-5 well.

The incident resulted in a significant release of gas mixed with crude oil, which shot high into the atmosphere, creating thick clouds of gas and smoke that spread across Irusumanda and nearby areas, causing alarm among residents.

In response, authorities have relocated over 500 individuals from the village to relief camps.

ONGC confirmed that there have been no injuries or fatalities reported, noting that the well is situated in a remote area with no human settlements within approximately 500–600 meters.

The ONGC teams have secured the area and initiated cooling operations. They stated, "Preparatory work is underway to enable well-control measures and, if necessary, capping of the well."

Additionally, ONGC has begun collaborating with international well-control experts and is making arrangements for advanced well-control and casing-cutting operations, pending site evaluation.

Senior management and technical specialists from ONGC are closely observing the situation, with extra equipment being dispatched from nearby locations, including Narsapuram.

Local officials, including Konaseema district Collector Mahesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police Rahul Meena, are overseeing the firefighting efforts.

Amalapuram MP Harish Mathur and local MLA Varaprasad are also present at the site to monitor developments.