Editorial

Accidents happen, but they should not when it comes to managing a complex oil refinery that is of strategic importance to meeting the nation’s fuel needs. The explosion and fire that razed several storage tanks at the Balongan oil refining facility in West Java on Monday should not have happened.

An accident of this scale raises questions about the professional competence of Pertamina in maintaining and operating facilities entrusted by the state that are crucial to the nation’s gasoline supply, and hence the running of the economy.

The state-owned oil and gas company should own up to the tragedy, which claimed one life and injured 14 others, and rather than calling it an “incident”, a favorite euphemism used by officials to avoid taking full responsibility, Pertamina should recognize it for what it is: An accident. Its insistence on calling it an incident could lead to complacency on safety measures and is a sure recipe for another accident waiting to happen.

We commend Pertamina for its rapid reaction in shutting down the entire Balongan facility to contain the fire to within a few storage tanks and stop it from spreading to the rest of the huge complex. Pertamina has also quickly evacuated nearly 100 people living close to the facility. According to reports from Monday morning, a dozen or so people have been injured by the blast. We recognize that a potentially bigger and deadlier crisis has been averted.

We take note of Pertamina’s claim that the Balongan fire would not disrupt fuel supplies in Jakarta and the rest of Java and that refineries in Cilacap, Central Java, and in Tuban, East Java, will make up for the supply losses from Balongan. And Pertamina CEO Nicke Widyawato has already publicly apologized for the accident.

But these are actions taken after the fact. More pertinent questions are what caused the blast and fire, and what lessons can we learn to prevent them in future?

Residents had complained about a nauseating smell of gasoline the day before the explosion. Since it rained heavily at the time, a Pertamina official said a lightning may have triggered the blast. These are possible leads Pertamina could use as it launches its investigation into the accident.

The fire also raises the question how Pertamina could have built a refinery so close to villages. This is a question that should be raised about all other refining facilities on the densely populated island of Java. Almost all of Pertamina’s existing plans for expanding its refining capacity affect operations on Java, including in Balongan. Long-term, Pertamina must relocate them or build new ones outside Java to ensure people’s safety.

Pertamina holds a virtually monopoly on the nation’s oil refining business, and its current expansion plans are aimed at replacing all the remaining fuel imports, estimated at one third of the national consumption, by 2026. It isn’t too much for the nation to demand that the company meet the highest standards when it comes to safety, security and health at all its operations.

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