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Pertamina disburses first round of oil-leak compensation worth $1.32m
Pertamina disbursed on Wednesday Rp 18.54 billion (US$1.32 million) to 10,271 verified victims of an oil leak in Karawang, West Java.
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A man cleans up a beach on Untung Jawa Island, Thousand Islands regency, Jakarta, on Tuesday, Sep. 3 after an oil leak. The oil leak was caused by a gas kick in one of the wells owned by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina at the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) platform near Karawang, West Java. (JP/Donny Fernando)
S
tate-owned energy company Pertamina, through its upstream subsidiary Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), disbursed on Wednesday Rp 18.54 billion (US$1.32 million) in the first round of compensation to fishermen and villagers affected by an oil leak from one of PHE’s wells.
PHE development director Afif Saifudin said in a statement that the compensation was disbursed via bank transfer to 10,271 verified victims who lived in the affected Karawang regency in West Java.
“The amount of compensation owed to affected residents is still being calculated and it will take more time to ensure the sum complies with regulations and can be verified, PHE is working with various academic consultants and institutions to determine the final value,” he said.
The oil leak followed a “gas kick”, an unplanned and often violent release of gas caused by low pressure in a wellbore, on July 12 in an exploration well called YYA-1, beneath PHE’s Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) platform located 2 kilometers north of Karawang. The leaked oil affected villages and beaches in Karawang and Bekasi, also in West Java.
PHE vice president for relations Ifki Sukarya explained that the verified victim count of 10,271 residents in West Java was only a subset of the 14,721 victims counted in three provinces – West Java, Jakarta and Banten – calculated by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.
The company, having met with local and central government bodies, agreed upon an initial compensation sum of Rp 900,000 per resident per month for the two affected months of August and September.
The compensation is calculated based on Environment and Forestry Ministry Regulation No. 7/2014 on losses from environmental contamination.
