by Nava Thakuria
Guwahati: Raising serious concerns over the recent gas leakage at a crude oil well in Sivasagar, the All Assam Engineers’ Association (AAEA) has demanded transparency and accountability from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) regarding the status and safety of so-called “abandoned” wells across Assam.
In a strongly worded statement, the Northeast India-based forum of graduate engineers warned that many such wells, often declared as “dried up” or unproductive by officials, pose a potential risk to human life, property, and the environment. The AAEA claimed that private entities operating in these wells frequently evade responsibility when accidents occur.
The association urged the Union Government to hold concerned ONGC and OIL officials accountable for any disasters that arise after a well has been officially declared inactive or depleted.
“There are fears that some corrupt officials within ONGC and OIL may deliberately classify certain wells as ‘non-feasible’ for further drilling, enabling private players to step in and exploit these resources through secret understandings, possibly involving profit-sharing,” stated AAEA president Er Kailash Sarma, working president Er Nava J Thakuria, and secretary Er Inamul Hye.
They questioned whether any mechanism exists to monitor these decisions after such wells are handed over to private players, hinting at possible malpractice in the classification process of hydrocarbon assets.
The AAEA cited previous incidents such as the 2020 Baghjan blowout in Tinsukia and the recent Bhatiapar-Bari Chuk gas leak in Sivasagar as glaring examples of negligence and repeated patterns of regulatory failure. In both cases, private parties were operating in wells thought to be depleted, leading to serious accidents.
The engineers’ body also criticized India’s lack of a dedicated and efficient disaster response unit capable of handling major oil and gas well accidents. “Shockingly, we still have to depend on expert teams from countries like Canada or the United States whenever such disasters strike,” the AAEA added.
The association called for immediate reforms in monitoring, classification, and post-abandonment regulation of oil and gas wells to prevent further environmental and industrial hazards.
