Leakage in ONGC pipeline detected

RAJAHMUNDRY (ANDHRA PRADESH): Close on the heels of a GAIL pipeline blast at Nagaram in Andhra Pradesh last week that claimed 19 lives, a leakage in another pipeline belonging to Oil and Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC) was detected at Tatipaka, about 80 kms from here.

ONGC, however, appealed to the people not to panic as it had replaced the leaked pipeline.

"A minor pipeline leakage was identified in a flow line at 6.30 pm yesterday at Tatipaka GCS (gas collection station) Complex. Fault diagnosis revealed that crude oil and gas of very low intensity trapped in the line was seeping out through an inactive non-flowing Tatipaka well number 2," ONGC said in a statement today.

According to the statement, the leakage was arrested by bleeding it out (washing out the remains in the closed pipeline) by a team of engineers and technicians of ONGC which worked overnight and replaced the leaked pipeline.

"The repair work was inspected to satisfaction early this morning by Local MRO Sridhar," it said.