The fire triggered by a major gas blowout at an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) well in the Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district has been extinguished. Konaseema District Joint Collector T Nisanthi confirmed Saturday morning that the blowout was fully controlled, with minimal flames remaining. This marks the end of a five-day battle to contain the blaze, which erupted on January 5 near the villages of Mori and Irusumanda.
Operational Control
The gas well, identified as Mori-5, was being operated by ONGC's Production Enhancement Contractor, Deep Industries Ltd. Following the incident, ONGC's senior management assumed direct operational control. The ONGC Crisis Management Team worked tirelessly for nearly five days to extinguish the fire. A massive fireball, reportedly reaching a height of 20 meters and a width of 25 meters, had initially erupted from the leak. Fortunately, the disaster resulted in no loss of life or injuries.
Next Steps
Operations are now focused on the technical processes of capping the gas well and mudding, which involves pumping specialized fluid to secure the wellbore. The successful containment of the blowout and subsequent extinguishing of the fire is a significant achievement for the ONGC teams involved, averting potentially greater damage.