Climate & Environment

APPCB Demands ₹36.17 Crore Compensation from ONGC Over Mori-5 Well Blowout

By Appala Naidu Tippana 10237

The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has issued a show‑cause notice to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), seeking environmental compensation of ₹36.17 crore for operating the Mori‑5 well without the required environmental clearances for 12,057 days. The board’s investigation followed a blowout caused by a gas leak at the Mori‑5 well in Irusumanda Village, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, on 5 January 2026. In April, the APPCB’s Monitoring Committee learned that ONGC had transferred the well to its Production Enhancement Contracts (PEC) contractor, M/s Deep Exploratory Services Pvt Ltd, for workover and production enhancement work. The committee later noted that the Mori‑5 well was operating without obtaining mandatory environmental clearances and consents. In a show‑cause notice dated 15 September, APPCB Member Secretary S. Srisaravanan wrote: “The Board hereby issues a show‑cause notice to M/s. ONGC Well Mori‑5, as to why the Environmental Compensation of ₹36,17,10,000 shall not be levied on your facility, for operating the well in violation of consent conditions.” A copy of the notice is with The Hindu. ONGC is required to reply within 15 days of receiving the notice; otherwise the ₹36.17 crore compensation will be imposed for the environmental damage caused by the blowout. Meanwhile, Konaseema‑based environmental activist Venkatapathi Raja Yenumala has filed a case before the National Green Tribunal in Chennai concerning the incident and the violations in the Mori‑5 operations.