One of the World’s Largest Cargo jet brings Canadian snubbing unit for Baghjan

GUWAHATI

The snubbing unit from Canada, which reached Kolkata Airport on Wednesday night, is being brought to Baghjan in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district by road, sources at Oil India Limited (OIL) confirmed.

Piston Well Services Inc of Alberta (Canada) would conduct the emergency snubbing services at the blowout well for Alert Disaster Control of Singapore, experts of which have already engaged in the operations.

According to OIL, the equipment weighing 59,000 kg was brought to Kolkata from Canada by an An-124 (Antonov) aircraft, the largest civilian transport aircraft and the heaviest in the world.

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The aircraft, according to reports, is so massive that neither Guwahati nor Dibrugarh Airport can accommodate it.

“The snubbing unit has landed in Kolkata and it will take 14 days to reach Baghjan by road. Everything is under control and the gas diversion operations have been going on successfully,” an OIL spokesperson said.

The natural gas producing well (number five) of OIL at Baghjan had witnessed a blowout on May 27, 2020, leading to a massive explosion on June 9. Three employees of OIL have lost their lives since the blowout.

Experts of Alert and OIL teams had succeeded in the restoration of diversion of gas from the blowout well to two locations at the Baghjan Early Production System (EPS) besides two flare pits on September 13.