Nicke Widyawati, the CEO of Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina, on Sunday said that a fire at the company’s refining complex in Cilacap, Central Java, had been completely extinguished without disrupting operations. Pertamina’s Chief commissioner Basuki Tjahaja Purnama also confirmed that the refinery is running normally despite the fire.
CEO of Subholding Refinery and Petrochemical, Djoko Priyono, said that the blaze erupted at one of the refinery’s fuel storage tanks at around 7.20 PM local time on Saturday. It was put off at 7.45 AM on Sunday. Djoko added that the fire was contained within the tank. Hence, the production activity was not affected. He also noted that Pertamina also conducted environmental pollution control. Around 80 nearby residents evacuated after the incident had returned home after the emergency status was lifted at 09.15 AM on Sunday.
According to Pertamina’s website, the Cilacap refinery can process up to 270,000 bpd of crude oil and supplies around 34% of Indonesia’s fuel demand. Nicke said that the supplies of fuel and LPG were sufficient despite the fire. She also said that the cause of the fire is still being investigated, adding that Pertamina would carry out a thorough evaluation and investigation regarding the incident.
