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Systemic weaknesses behind oil spill
Hard work: Residents of Kampung Baru Ulu in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, clear their neighborhood of trash and oil on Friday
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ard work: Residents of Kampung Baru Ulu in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, clear their neighborhood of trash and oil on Friday. State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina said the cleanup effort following an oil spill had reached 94 percent completion. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
The absence of an early-warning system played an important role in the oil spill in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, on March 31, lawmakers have been told.
Consequently, safety improvements are essential to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future.
During a hearing with a team from House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy and natural mineral resources in Balikpapan on Friday, representatives from state oil and gas company Pertamina Refinery Unit (RU) V Balikpapan admitted that neither the Lawe-lawe Terminal in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan, nor the oil refinery in Balikpapan were equipped with an early-warning system to assess hazards and serious risks.
“Pertamina must install this. Commission VII fully supports the installment of this system, no matter how much it costs,” said lawmaker Kurtubi, a mining economics expert. He was speaking during the visit of the team, which also included lawmakers Eni Maulani Saragih, Ikhwan Datu Adam and Syaikhul Islam Ali, to Pertamina RU V Balikpapan.
Kurtubi said an early-warning system could warn of a pipeline leakage, even if the leakage was relatively small. The leakage could automatically be detected in the control room or elsewhere. Pertamina oil refinery director Budi Santoso Syarif said the recent oil leakage, which was allegedly caused by the anchor of Panama-flagged cargo vessel MV Ever Judger hitting the company’s undersea pipeline, could not be immediately identified in the 22-meter deep waters where the pipeline was located.
Little change was noted on oil channelling indicators at the Lawe-lawe terminal or the Balikpapan refinery when the rupture occurred.
“From a normal pressure of 15 bars, it dropped by only 0.08 bar,” said Budi. Technicians became aware that something unusual had happened only after pumps sucking oil from Lawe-lawe stopped operating, he went on.
Responding to the explanations, House lawmakers called on Pertamina to improve its safety standards. “Pertamina is a technologically advanced company, right? We, the people, depend very much on the company,” said Eni.
As previously reported, the East Kalimantan Police named on Thursday the Chinese captain of the Ever Judger, Zhang Deyi, 50, a suspect in the Balikpapan oil spill. The police charged him under Article 99 of the 2009 Environmental Protection Law, which carries a maximum sentence of nine years in prison. He was also charged under Article 359 of the Criminal Code on negligent homicide, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. The oil spill on March 31 caused a fire that led to the death of five fishermen in the area when the incident occurred.
People’s Coalition for Fisheries Justice Indonesia (KIARA) secretary general Abdul Halim said Pertamina should also take responsibility in the case by performing its corporate social responsibility (CSR) for affected residents around the area.
“Most of the residents living along the coastline work as fishermen, so they will definitely face some difficulties because of this incident,” Abdul told The Jakarta Post on Friday. More than 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into Balikpapan Bay in the leak. With the average crude oil price standing at US$70 per barrel, it is estimated that Pertamina suffered more than $2.8 million in losses from the incident.
Pertamina must also fund operations to clean up Balikpapan Bay from crude oil and provide financial assistance to relatives of the dead victims. Hundreds of fishermen from Kampung Baru, West Balikpapan, have also been unable to go to sea because of the heavy pollution.
“There have also been invaluable losses, such as the death of a dolphin, an endangered sea mammal living in Balikpapan Bay,” said Danielle Kreb, a scientist who has researched Irrawaddy dolphin populations in Balikpapan Bay and the Mahakam River for years. Currently, there are only around 65 individual dolphins in the bay, hence, one death is a great loss. “They breed very slowly,” said Kreb. (dpk)
