Discovery, India’s first and leading aggregated real-life entertainment network, has shot an “investigative documentary” on last year’s Baghjan gas blowout in upper Assam, narrating the story of an “unbelievable” catastrophe in the energy sector amid the pandemic so that it could shape and influence course correction to avoid a repeat.

The two-part documentary — Inside the Burning — will be premiering on Discovery Channel and the discovery+ streaming platform on Saturday and Sunday at 7:30PM.

Senior OIL official Tridiv Hazarika told the Telegraph on Friday that the documentary on the “unfortunate once-in-a lifetime” incident has generated a lot of interest globally in the energy sector because this was the “only film” ever made on a gas well blowout with live footage.

“It is an important case study for the energy sector. Such incidents have to be documented so others can understand and prepare for such an eventuality. As a company we wanted to be transparent and share the key moments of the capping operation, the challenges, our perseverance, how other agencies helped and the impact on local communities...,” Hazarika said.

The gas well blowout on May 27, 2020, and the subsequent well head fire on June 9 had affected about 8,000 residents around the well site and the local ecology.

The gas well was finally killed through snubbing after 172 days on November 15 and was finally abandoned on December 3.

Efforts at controlling Baghjan gas leak

Snubbing is a process through which pipes are inserted to the bottom of the well and through which chemical mud is injected to kill the well. Snubbing equipments were flown in from Canada to Calcutta last month and these reached Baghjan in Tinsukia district, about 530 km east of Guwahati, on November 4.

OIL had two choices before it: restore the well and produce or abandon the well. Based on the health of the well and safety issues, OIL decided to abandon the productive well for all times to come.

A gas well of say average 3000 metre depth can take around two to three months to drill under normal circumstances and can cost around Rs 100 crores.

The killed well has a depth of about 3600 m, Hazarika said.

“From loss of life, to environmental and wildlife damage, ‘Inside the Burning’ is an investigative documentary that narrates the story of an unbelievable catastrophe ... The two-part documentary showcases the stories of the brave firefighters, engineers and technicians who worked round the clock, putting their lives on the line to curb certain irreparable damage and highlights OIL’s (Oil India Limited) crucial role to the rescue operations,” Discovery said on Friday.

A health camp for the Baghjan affected at Baghjan during the pandemic

Using graphical illustrations to simulate the inner working of well no. 05, the documentary gives audiences an x-ray view into the technical conditions that led to the leak and the consequential explosion on June 9, the Channel said.

There were two Discovery crews, about eight personnel shooting for almost two months till the operation was over on December 3, focussing on how the blowout was controlled technically.

“Unless you see the images you will not be able to understand the challenges confronting us. It was an unfortunate incident.

“We lost three of our people but there was no civilian casualty and there were no registered Covid-19 cases despite thousands living in relief camps. We hope the docuseries will further help improve safety protocols and response to future mishaps,” Hazarika said.