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Riau refinery fire adds to Pertamina’s woes
The incident came just a month after another fire broke out at a fuel storage depot in North Jakarta that killed close to three dozen people, raising alarms over poor safety measures at Pertamina’s aging facilities.
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Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati (left) and Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita visit the Dumai refinery in Riau on July 17, 2020. (Courtesy of/Pertamina)
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refinery operated by state oil and gas firm Pertamina in Dumai city, Riau province, caught fire on Saturday, injuring nine workers and damaging several buildings in the area.
The incident came just a month after another fire broke out at a fuel storage depot in North Jakarta that killed close to three dozen people, raising alarms over poor safety measures at Pertamina’s aging facilities.
A spokesperson for the Dumai Refinery Unit, Agustiawan, told The Jakarta Post in a statement on Sunday that the firm was focusing on helping the local community recover while the Riau Police investigated how the refinery’s gas compressor had caught fire, the suspected source of the blaze.
Agustiawan said some nearby houses and places of worship had suffered minor damage as a result of the fire and that nine workers who were stationed in an operations room were injured by glass shrapnel from the initial explosion.
All nine workers have been discharged from a Pertamina-owned hospital in the city after receiving first aid.
“We would like to apologize for the incident, and we will take responsibility for the damage caused to the community,” Agustiawan said, adding that Pertamina would compensate for any property damage caused by the incident.
He also said Pertamina had formed a team consisting of representatives of the Riau administration, law enforcement and the local community to aid in rebuilding and recovery.
