Chairman Of Commission VII DPR Requests A Comprehensive Investigation And Audit Of The Cilacap Refinery

Chairman of Commission VII Sugeng Suparwoto (ANTARA/Risbiani Fardaniah)

JAKARTA - Chairman of Commission VII DPR RI Sugeng Suparwoto asked for a thorough investigation and audit of the Pertamina refinery in Cilacap, following another fire at the oil refinery located in Cilacap, Central Java, last night.

"We ask for a thorough investigation and audit of the refinery and its safety," said Chairman of Commission VII DPR-RI Sugeng Suparwoto to Antara, in Jakarta, Sunday, November 14, responding to the Cilacap refinery fire.

He said a thorough investigation and audit of the refinery was related to the condition of the refinery which was already old. According to him, Pertamina's refineries in Cilacap were built between the 1970s and 1980s and so far there have been no renewals or new refineries there.

Therefore, he continued, a thorough audit is needed, especially regarding the security system, because the fire at the Cilacap refinery complex occurred again. According to him, this year there have been 3 fires at Pertamina's refineries, namely in Balongan (West Java) and Cilacap (Central Java).

"So a patchwork evaluation is not enough," said Sugeng Suparwoto, who leads the DPR-RI Commission, which includes industry, energy and mineral resources, and research.

He admitted, the external challenges of the Cilacap Refinery were quite large, both natural and environmental, and social challenges. He said the extraordinary climate change caused the air pressure in the south of Java Island to be extreme, the abrasion was quite high, and when it rained a lot of lightning.

In addition, he continued, environmental and social conditions changed, different from when the refinery was built in the 1970-1980s. This, according to him, caused the security system to be no longer suitable. The factors, said the politician from the Nasdem Party faction, have changed.

"So the incident itself (refinery fire) must be investigated in-depth, whether due to nature, human error, or inadequate technical equipment. It is also possible for sabotage to occur," said Sugeng Suparwoto.

Furthermore, he appreciated the handling of the Pertamina team, which he considered to be very swift so that the fire was quickly extinguished.

"Coincidentally, there was a fire in my electoral district, so I called the regent, Pertamina competent person, Bramantyo, and the director of the Cilacap Refinery. All of the responses were good," said Sugeng Suparwoto, who admitted that when the refinery fire was on its way from Solo to Jakarta.