The Environment and Forestry Ministry has deemed that the Pertamina Refinery Unit V --a subsidiary of state-run energy giant Pertamina in Balikpapan-- miscalculated the risks of the submarine pipeline in its environmental permit.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Environment and Forestry Ministry has deemed that the Pertamina Refinery Unit V – a subsidiary of state-run energy giant Pertamina in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan –miscalculated the risks of the submarine pipeline in its environmental permit. In response to the recent pipeline leak that caused the oil spill in Balikpapan Bay, PT Pertamina is to install a new submarine pipeline system to prevent similar accide——nts in the future.
In a working meeting with House of Representatives Commission VII on Monday (16/4/2018) in Jakarta, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar highlighted her ministry’s findings, including the lack of details on pipeline maintenance in environmental reports, inadequate pipeline inspections and the lack of an automated pipeline monitoring and early warning system. Siti called on Pertamina to check all submarine pipelines installed in its areas of operation.
PT Pertamina president director Elia Massa Manik said that the company could not immediately determine the cause of the oil spill. “We have fulfilled all requirements on licensing, which is still being evaluated by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. In terms of recovery, we will use a new system,” said Massa.
Apart from Siti and the Pertamina board of directors, the meeting also saw the attendance of Energy and Mineral Resources deputy minister Arcandra Tahar and East Kalimantan Police investigators. Massa said that, apart from providing damages and compensation to the local people who were affected by the oil spill, the company would continue its recovery efforts in the affected area. He expressed his hope that local authorities would be able to identify the responsible parties in the disaster.
The majority of House Commission VII members grilled Pertamina representatives at the meeting, with many lawmakers criticizing Pertamina for its slow response to the oil spill. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry was also deemed responsible in terms of monitoring the disaster.
House Commission VII deputy chair Eni Maulani Saragih, from the Golkar Party faction, said the meeting aimed to gather information from related parties and to urge their seriousness in tackling the impacts of the oil spill. House Commission VII member Tjatur Sapto Edy said the accident had caused crude oil to contaminate local waters.
Investigation
East Kalimantan Police special crimes director Sr. Comr. Yustan Alpiani said that his investigators still needed to question seven expert witnesses in the case. Investigators sought to question the witnesses, who have reportedly declined to provide any statements before they had obtained the results of lab tests that showed crude oil pollution in local waters. The test results will be available in two weeks.
House Commission VII member Muhammad Nasir from the Democratic Party faction said that it was strange that no suspect had been named 16 days after the pipeline leak. This was despite the known facts of the owners of the pipeline and the ship that dropped anchor and struck the pipeline, which then dragged the section that had broken off.
Arcandra said that the pipeline had been in very good condition before the accident. The pipeline, which was used to transport crude oil to a Balikpapan refinery, was considered vital asset and that the area around it was restricted.
In relation to the case, Sikap legal aid agency’s Balikpapan chair, Ebin Marwi, paid a visit to the East Kalimantan Ombudsman on Monday. Ebin said that he alleged maladministration in the East Kalimantan Police investigation into Pertamina. East Kalimantan Ombudsman assistant document inspector Nafi Al Rasyid said the office would review the report first.
East Kalimantan executive director Fathur Roziqin Fen of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said no goodwill had been displayed in fulfilling the liabilities for the environmental damage caused by the oil spill.
Presidential Regulation No. 109/2006 on emergency oil spill countermeasures stipulates that the vessel’s owner or operator and the highest executive of the offshore oil company involved in the spill were responsible for bearing all costs of the accident.