Bahlil Regarding Balikpapan Refinery Incident: Deliberately Burned Or Burned

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia questioned the burning incident of the Crude Destilation Unit (CDU) on the Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project.

Bahlil admitted that he had met with the President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero) Nicke Widyawati to ensure that the incident that occurred last May was purely burned or there was an element of intent.

"Yesterday I discussed with Mrs. Pertamina's Managing Director, why was our RDMP in Balikpapan on fire? I asked if it really caught fire or it was deliberately burned," said Bahlil, quoted on Thursday, October 10.

Bahlil then highlighted the length of the Balikpapan Refinery RDMP project that had not been completed.

He said that the development had taken place since he was still the Minister of Investment until he regretted his position as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"Since I was still at BKPM, I have gone down to review the project, until now it has not been finished," continued Bahlil.

The length of this project, he said, caused Indonesia to continue to import fuel.

Previously, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, who was still in charge of Arifin Tasrif, targeted the Balikpapan RDMP refinery to be fully operational by 2025.

Meanwhile, the President Director of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) Taufik Aditiyawarman explained the purpose of the Balikpapan RDMP project.

In addition to increasing processing capacity to 360,000 barrels per day, another goal to be achieved is product quality improvement and refinery complexity.

"The Balikpapan refinery previously had a processing capacity of 260,000 barrels per day. Through the Balikpapan RDMP project, the processing capacity increased by 100,000 barrels per day. The CDU IV unit that has been revamped has now operated normally and has produced fuel," explained Taufik.