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Balongan refinery fire: Pertamina shuts down facility, authorities evacuate hundreds
Multiple agencies are working to contain the disaster, while the state-owned oil giant has stressed that fuel supply to Jakarta and other destinations in West Java would remain undisrupted.
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A massive fire rages at the Balongan refinery, operated by state oil company Pertamina, in Indramayu, West Java, on March 29, 2021. (AFP/Agus Sipur)
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tate-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina shut down its Balongan refinery in Indramayu, West Java, after a raging inferno broke out early on Monday morning to engulf the facility and knock out electricity in the area. It has also led to the evacuation of over 900 residents, injured dozens and, according to one official, claimed one life.
Pertamina has shut down the plant to control the flow of oil and prevent the fire from spreading further through the refinery, the company’s fifth largest with an output capacity of 125,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
The fire broke out at gasoline storage tank T301G at around 12:45 a.m. on Monday, and then rapidly spread to two nearby tanks. The main refinery was unaffected, however, Pertamina officials noted through a broad media outreach campaign.
The fire has affected the five nearby villages of Balongan, Sukareja, Rawadalem, Sukaurip and Tegalurung, according to the Indramayu emergency response team. First responders, Pertamina, the National Police and the Indonesian Military in the region have set up emergency tents and are evacuating affected residents and workers.
Read also: Five injured, hundreds evacuated after massive blaze at West Java oil refinery
“We are waiting for the fire to be extinguished. Maybe we can bring things back to normal in four to five days,” Pertamina logistics, supply chain and infrastructure director Mulyono told a press conference on Monday morning.
The oil giant also made assurances that the shutdown would not disrupt fuel distribution. The Balongan refinery, located around 200 kilometers from Jakarta, supplies fuel primarily to the Indonesian capital and parts of West Java.
