Various videos showed thick black smoke in the sky after a gas pipeline leak at a well in Andhra Pradesh’s Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, managed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)’s production contractor Deep Industries Ltd, sparked a fire on Monday.
According to preliminary information provided by an official of the Maharatna public sector company, there were no reports of deaths or injuries.
Watch the ONGC well fire video:
Following the gas leak and resulting fire, senior ONGC officials from Rajahmundry rushed to Mori village, where the blaze occurred at Well Mori-5, the official said.
“The fire occurred due to a gas pipeline leakage at the Mori-5 well, which is operated by Deep Industries Ltd as part of production enhancement operations,” the official told. PTIHe added that ONGC officials have arrived at the site to evaluate the situation and investigate the cause of the incident,
The Konaseema district administration is also responding to the situation, coordinating firefighting efforts and implementing safety measures at the site.
What did ONGC say about the well fire?
ONGC stated in a press release that “an incident of gas leakage during workover operations at Well Mori-5 was reported by the PEC operator, Deep Industries Limited, at the Mori field”.
The well is situated in a remote location, with no human habitation within a radius of around 600 metres.
“The affected area has been cordoned off, cooling operations have commenced, and ONGC has mobilized its Crisis Management Teams (CMT and RCMT),” the company stated.
Preparatory work is in progress to enable well control and, if necessary, capping of the well. The release added that ONGC has also started coordinating with international well-control specialists.
Mobilization arrangements have been activated to support advanced well-control and casing-cutting operations, depending on the site assessment, it further said.
Meanwhile, ONGC’s senior management and technical experts are closely monitoring the situation, with additional equipment being brought in from nearby locations, including Narsapuram in West Godavari district.
According to reports, Deep Industries Ltd, a Production Enhancement Contractor (PEC) of ONGC, had won a 1,402-crore contract in 2024 for production enhancement operations at ONGC’s Rajahmundry Asset in Andhra Pradesh.
The company has been operating the Mori-5 well for approximately a year, the official said.
