Digboi
Encyclopedia
Digboi is a town and a town area committee in Tinsukia district
in the north-eastern part of the state of Assam
, India
Crude oil was discovered here in late 19th century, in a span of ten years when the discovery of Oil took place in first Oil drilling in the world. Digboi oilfield has the oldest running oil well in the world . With a significant number of British professionals working for Assam Oil Company until the decade following independence of India, Digboi had a well developed infrastructure and a number of bungalows unique to the town. It has eighteen holes golf course as part of the Digboi Club. It has guest houses and tourist residential apartments laid on Italian architectural plan to promote tourism in upper Assam.
This is possibly the most distilled – though fanciful – version of the legend explaining the siting and naming of Digboi. Two events separated by seven years have become fused, but although neither is likely to be provable, such evidence that does exist appears sufficiently detailed to be credible.
Various web sites offer variations on the elephant’s foot story, a consensus of which would be that engineers extending the Dibru-Sadiya railway line to Ledo for the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) in 1882 were using elephants for haulage and noticed that the mud on one pachyderm’s feet smelled of oil. Retracing the trail of footprints, they found oil seeping to the surface. One of the engineers, the Englishman (not Canadian) William Lake (aka "Willie Leova" Lake), was an ‘oil enthusiast’ and persuaded the company to drill a well.
Oil India Ltd makes no reference to elephants’ feet in its company history, although on its previous web site the company noted that Lake had noticed “the oil seepages around Borbhil”. Once the project had been approved, Lake assembled equipment, boilers, and local labour, and engaged elephants to haul the machinery to the site. The first well was started in September 1889, but an encouraging first strike at 178 feet (54.3 m) turned out to be a small pocket, and drilling recommenced. This continued until November 1890 when the well was completed at a total depth of 662 feet (201.8 m), and it was during this extended period of drilling that Oil India's old web site placed the legend of Lake exhorting one or more of his labourers to “Dig, boy!”
s' legs soaked in black mud, that smelt somewhat like oil. The men began exploring more, and in 1889, the English started a small oil installation. India (and Asia
) obtained its first refinery
in Digboi in the year 1901. Assam Oil Company was formed in 1899 to look after the running of the oil business in this area. The Digboi oil field produced close to 7000 oilbbl/d of crude oil at its peak, which was during World War II
. The field was pushed to produce the maximum amount of oil with little regard to reservoir management; as a result, production started to drop almost immediately after the war. The current production from the Digboi fields is about 240 oilbbl/d. Over 1,000 wells have been drilled at Digboi – the first well in 1889 had stuck oil at 178 feet (54.3 m). In 1989, the Department of Posts, India came out with a stamp commemorating 100 years of the Digboi fields.
Today, though the crude production is not high, Digboi has the distinction of being India's oldest continuously producing oilfield. Digboi refinery, now a division of Indian Oil Corporation
, had a capacity of about 0.65 MMTPA as of 2003. The Digboi refinery is the world's oldest oil refinery still in operation.
Digboi is now Headquarter of Assam Oil Division of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The Earliest recorded to the existence of oil in India is found in the memories and dispatches of the Army Officers who penetrated the jungles of Upper Assam since 1825. Lt. R. Wilcox, Major A. White, Capt. Francis Jenkins, Capt. P.S. Hanney—they all saw at different times petroleum exuding from banks of the Dihing River
. Mr. C.A. Bruce (1828) and Mr. H.B. Medicott (1865) of the Geological Survey of India also saw oil while prospecting for coal
in Upper Assam.
Mr. Goodenough of McKillop, Stewart & Co. Calcutta was the first in India to start a systematic programme of drilling for oil in November 1886, at Nahorpung about 30 miles (48.3 km) south east of Dibgoi, just seven years after the world's first commercial oil well was drilled in 1859, by Col Willam Drake in Pennsylvania
, USA. This hand dug well—the first oil well in India—was drilled up to 102 feet (31.1 m) and proved dry. However the second well struck oil at Makum near Tinsukia, about 14 miles (22.5 km) from Digboi.
In 1939, there was a major labour union strike in the Refinery. The Gandhi Movement of Congress for Indian Independence struggle; backed by labour rights and equality status was headed by Sardar Amar Singh Marwah.The break of the World War II coincided with the Digboi labour strike resulted in harsh steps taken by the British Administrative offices to crush the strike. The Viceroy and the Governor had intervened to bring a settlement adopting sturdy steps were take to crush the union by shooting down of the president of the labour union to be followed by issuing orders of Quit Digboi, Quit Lakhimpur and finally Quit Assam to the leaders of the labour union.
, Digboi had a population of 20,405. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Digboi has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85% and, female literacy is 77%. In Digboi, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Digboi Oil Town was considered as a separate census town
in 2001 India census
. As of 2001 India census, Digboi Oil Town had a population of 16,584. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Digboi Oil Town has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84% and, female literacy is 79%. In Digboi Oil Town, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
is the nearest Airport connecting to this oil town.
Digboi has the following schools and colleges -
Tinsukia district
Tinsukia district is one of the 27 administrative districts in the state of Assam, India. The district headquarters are located at Tinsukia. Tinsukia district occupies an area of , comparatively equivalent to South Georgia.- History :...
in the north-eastern part of the state of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Crude oil was discovered here in late 19th century, in a span of ten years when the discovery of Oil took place in first Oil drilling in the world. Digboi oilfield has the oldest running oil well in the world . With a significant number of British professionals working for Assam Oil Company until the decade following independence of India, Digboi had a well developed infrastructure and a number of bungalows unique to the town. It has eighteen holes golf course as part of the Digboi Club. It has guest houses and tourist residential apartments laid on Italian architectural plan to promote tourism in upper Assam.
Geography
Digboi is located at 27.38°N 95.63°E. It has an average elevation of 165 metres (541 ft).Etymology
“‘Dig boy, dig’, shouted the Canadian engineer, Mr W L Lake, at his men as they watched elephants emerging out of the dense forest with oil stains on their feet”.This is possibly the most distilled – though fanciful – version of the legend explaining the siting and naming of Digboi. Two events separated by seven years have become fused, but although neither is likely to be provable, such evidence that does exist appears sufficiently detailed to be credible.
Various web sites offer variations on the elephant’s foot story, a consensus of which would be that engineers extending the Dibru-Sadiya railway line to Ledo for the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) in 1882 were using elephants for haulage and noticed that the mud on one pachyderm’s feet smelled of oil. Retracing the trail of footprints, they found oil seeping to the surface. One of the engineers, the Englishman (not Canadian) William Lake (aka "Willie Leova" Lake), was an ‘oil enthusiast’ and persuaded the company to drill a well.
Oil India Ltd makes no reference to elephants’ feet in its company history, although on its previous web site the company noted that Lake had noticed “the oil seepages around Borbhil”. Once the project had been approved, Lake assembled equipment, boilers, and local labour, and engaged elephants to haul the machinery to the site. The first well was started in September 1889, but an encouraging first strike at 178 feet (54.3 m) turned out to be a small pocket, and drilling recommenced. This continued until November 1890 when the well was completed at a total depth of 662 feet (201.8 m), and it was during this extended period of drilling that Oil India's old web site placed the legend of Lake exhorting one or more of his labourers to “Dig, boy!”
Digboi as an oil town
It is said that the town gets its name from the phrase "dig-boy-dig," which is what the English told the labourers as they dug for crude oil. The town's history begins in 1867 when a small group of men from the Assam Railway and Trading Co. found their elephantElephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s' legs soaked in black mud, that smelt somewhat like oil. The men began exploring more, and in 1889, the English started a small oil installation. India (and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
) obtained its first refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
in Digboi in the year 1901. Assam Oil Company was formed in 1899 to look after the running of the oil business in this area. The Digboi oil field produced close to 7000 oilbbl/d of crude oil at its peak, which was during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The field was pushed to produce the maximum amount of oil with little regard to reservoir management; as a result, production started to drop almost immediately after the war. The current production from the Digboi fields is about 240 oilbbl/d. Over 1,000 wells have been drilled at Digboi – the first well in 1889 had stuck oil at 178 feet (54.3 m). In 1989, the Department of Posts, India came out with a stamp commemorating 100 years of the Digboi fields.
Today, though the crude production is not high, Digboi has the distinction of being India's oldest continuously producing oilfield. Digboi refinery, now a division of Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters are in Mumbai, India. It is India’s largest commercial enterprise, ranked 98th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2011...
, had a capacity of about 0.65 MMTPA as of 2003. The Digboi refinery is the world's oldest oil refinery still in operation.
Digboi is now Headquarter of Assam Oil Division of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The Earliest recorded to the existence of oil in India is found in the memories and dispatches of the Army Officers who penetrated the jungles of Upper Assam since 1825. Lt. R. Wilcox, Major A. White, Capt. Francis Jenkins, Capt. P.S. Hanney—they all saw at different times petroleum exuding from banks of the Dihing River
Dihing River
Dihing or Burhi Dihing is a large tributary of the Brahmaputra in Upper Assam. The river originates in the Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Tinsukia and Dibrugarh Districts in Assam to its confluence with the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh. The Dihing has created number of...
. Mr. C.A. Bruce (1828) and Mr. H.B. Medicott (1865) of the Geological Survey of India also saw oil while prospecting for coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
in Upper Assam.
Mr. Goodenough of McKillop, Stewart & Co. Calcutta was the first in India to start a systematic programme of drilling for oil in November 1886, at Nahorpung about 30 miles (48.3 km) south east of Dibgoi, just seven years after the world's first commercial oil well was drilled in 1859, by Col Willam Drake in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA. This hand dug well—the first oil well in India—was drilled up to 102 feet (31.1 m) and proved dry. However the second well struck oil at Makum near Tinsukia, about 14 miles (22.5 km) from Digboi.
In 1939, there was a major labour union strike in the Refinery. The Gandhi Movement of Congress for Indian Independence struggle; backed by labour rights and equality status was headed by Sardar Amar Singh Marwah.The break of the World War II coincided with the Digboi labour strike resulted in harsh steps taken by the British Administrative offices to crush the strike. The Viceroy and the Governor had intervened to bring a settlement adopting sturdy steps were take to crush the union by shooting down of the president of the labour union to be followed by issuing orders of Quit Digboi, Quit Lakhimpur and finally Quit Assam to the leaders of the labour union.
Digboi Refinery at Present
The Digboi Refinery modernization project was taken up in large scale in order to overcome the technological obsolescence of the old refinery. Subsequently a number of other major projects were undertaken by Assam Oil Division to further revamp and modernise Digboi Refinery. This includes the Wax Hydro-finishing Unit (WHU) which is now under commissioning, the Solvent Dewaxing/Deoiling Unit (SDU) whose target date of commissioning is November 2002. The Target date of commissioning of the Hydrotreater is May'2002 and the target date of commissioning of the Vacuum Residue Short Path Distillation (VRSD) is October 2002. Digboi refinery has been awarded the ISO-14001 and OHSMC certificate.Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Digboi had a population of 20,405. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Digboi has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85% and, female literacy is 77%. In Digboi, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Digboi Oil Town was considered as a separate census town
Census town
In India, a census town is one which has:# A minimum population of 5,000# At least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits# A density of population of at least 400 persons per km2.In Ireland, a census town is;...
in 2001 India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. As of 2001 India census, Digboi Oil Town had a population of 16,584. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Digboi Oil Town has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84% and, female literacy is 79%. In Digboi Oil Town, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Culture & Economy
Digboi has always retained a British-influenced culture years into independence. Club going, golfing, swimming and tennis were lifestyles of most Digboites since a long time back. Indian Oil Company (then known as Assam Oil Company) runs its oil refinery in Digboi - "the oldest refinery in Asia". Oil is Assam's third-largest industry behind tea and timber. Dibrugarh AirportDibrugarh Airport
Dibrugarh Airport is located at Dibrugarh, Assam, India.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:* at Airports Authority of India...
is the nearest Airport connecting to this oil town.
Digboi has the following schools and colleges -
- Vivekananda Vidyalaya, Missionpara, Digboi
- Balika Vidya Mandir, Digboi
- Carmel school, Digboi
- Delhi Public School (DPS)- Digboi http://www.dpsdigboi.com/
- Oil Valley School (OVS), Bogapani, Digboi http://www.oilvalleyschool.com/
- The Little Stars Senior Secondary School, Digboi http://www.littlestarsdigboi.org/
- Digboi College, Digboi http://www.digboicollege.org/
- Digboi Woman's College, Digboi
- RD college
- Vivekananda Academy, Golai-3,Digboi
- KALI MANDIR, SANTAN SANGHA ( Celebrating 50 yrs on 2011) http://www.kalimandirsantansangha.org/