Oil Refinery In Balongan Exploded, Pertamina Boss: We Are Still Investigating The Cause

The fire soared when a fire broke out at the Pertamina RU VI Balongan complex (ANTARA PHOTO / Dedhez Anggara)

JAKARTA - The oil refinery owned by PT Pertamina RU VI Balongan in Indramayu Regency, West Java caught on fire in the early hours of Monday at around 00.45 a.m. local time. PT Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati admitted that she still did not know the cause of the burning of the T-301G tank PT Pertamina Refinery Unit (RU) VI in Balongan.

"For the cause of the fire, we do not know for sure. So until now, we are still carrying out an investigation assisted by the authorities. So our focus today is to resolve emergencies in the field", Nicke said in a virtual press conference on Monday, March 29.

Nicke also apologized to the surrounding community for the fire incident at the Balongan Oil Refinery.

"I'm representing Petamina, would like to convey my deepest concern over this incident and also apologize to the public. We pray that the entire Pertamina team and stakeholders can handle this incident", she said.

Furthermore, Nicke appealed to the public to calm down. To anticipate the occurrence of undesirable things and to keep the community safe, her party also blocked the road to the fire location.

"We ask local residents to stay calm and stay away from the fire site. To ensure that we apologize too because we blocked roads around the scene with the assistance of the police and also the military", she said.

For information, the oil refinery in Balongan caught fire on Monday, March 29 in the early hours of the morning. Up to 6 hours after the incident, the fire was still burning. The refinery has a vital role.

Nicke said that until now her party was still working hand in hand in overcoming the fire. At least 10 fire engines have been deployed from Cirebon, Indramayu and Pertamina

"The current condition, the fire can be localized. For extinguishing with foam in the center of the fire, so we make sure the fire does not spread to other areas. We also do cooling in the surrounding area", she said.