Oil India Limited (OIL) has said the June 19 order from the Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) to shut down all crude oil and gas wells in the Baghjan area may lead to more blowouts and damage the ecology beyond repair. We were ready with our reply anyway and mailed it before he ordered us to shut down operations in the Baghjan area,” he added. “We replied to their letter in the morning via email and sent the closure order in the evening. Under pressureOIL officials said that from the closure order it was evident that PCBA was not aware of how the oil industry functions. Meanwhile, local groups lifted their blockades of all oil and gas wells in the Baghjan area from Saturday evening allowing OIL to resume operations there.

Source: The Hindu June 21, 2020 11:02 UTC