Impact of Crude Oil Exploration on Environment and Humans: A Case Profile of Kumchai EPS (Early Production System) and Drilling Sites of Changlang District in Arunachal Pradesh

 Emerging global energy crisis led to unconventional oil and gas drilling, exploration and production. The application of fracking, the standard procedure for crude oil exploration, has a high potential to cause environmental pollution. Fracking entails injecting large volumes of water, sand and chemical compound mixtures, particulate matter (PM), nitric oxides (NOx), methanol, naphthalene, xylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, sulfuric acid etc. (many of which are toxic and carcinogenic), into a drilled well at high pressure to break up the shale rocks and release natural gas. Because of this injection process and the noise associated with the drilling and processing of the shale rock, two areas of concern surround non-traditional gas industry sites: the contamination of the water, soil, and air caused by the injection process, and the high levels of noise generated by the development and drilling process.

 Besides these, methane gas emission and wastage, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and three isomers of xylene (a group of contaminants) are found in crude oil, coal, and gas deposits. This group is of recent interest because of its reported presence in drinking water wells in fracking areas. In this paper we explore the plausible impact of Kumchai eps (early production system) and drilling sites of Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh, to environment and humans. Even though, the exploration sites have an Environmental Impact Assessment study by Environmental Resource Management in 2019 and feasibility report 2020, we hereby report ground field-study profile, which in the long run will help mitigate some of the adverse impacts and provide clues for further scientific studies, without stalling the production.