DAYS BEFORE a blowout in its Baghjan oil field bordering the Dibru Saikhowa national park in Assam put “all life forms” in the vicinity at risk, Oil India Limited (OIL) obtained environment clearance for exploring and extracting gas from inside the park — despite restrictions in the mining lease on carrying out surveys inside sanctuaries and national parks.
On May 11, OIL obtained environment clearance from the Centre for drilling seven wells inside Dibru Saikhowa using the sub-surface Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) technology from three existing wells (Baghjan 3, 5 and 11) adjacent to the park.
According to OIL, the technology enables it to drill at a depth of 3,500-4,000 metres without disturbing the forest land surface.
