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Title: Oil Well Fire Still Raging HYDERABAD (April 10) Pakistan

Fire at the inoperative Bobby oil well which broke out on the night between Wednesday and Thursday remained unextinguished till the filing of this report on Sunday.

Sources of the well's owners, oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) said Sunday that experts and fire extinguishing material were awaited from Dubai while experts from Singapore had already arrived.

In absence of the required anti-fire equipment and material, they said, the well's fire will not be controlled.

Even if the required material arrives it will take from five days to a month to be become fully effective, the sources further said.

The blaze at the well located at Nauabad, in district Sanghar, some 85 kilometres from here, is causing an estimated loss of Rs 0.15 million daily besides forcing people to shift to other places due to smoke and rising temperature. Local crops were also being affected.

Officials of monitoring cell keep visiting the spot to enquire about the situation.

About a dozen of OGDC's pressure vehicles were on stand-by at the site. When asked an Engineer of OGDC said these vehicles were not being used because of possibility of an adverse environmental effect by combination of gas and oil.--APP

Copyright 2000 APP (Published under arrangement with Associated Press of Pakistan)

http://www.brecorder.com/story/S00DD/SDD10/SDD10333.htm

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 09, 2000