Oil Spill In Donan River Cilacap Predicted 1,900 Liters, Pertamina Deploys A Team To Investigate Sources

Residents collect spilled oil in the Donan River area, Cilacap Regency, Central Java, Tuesday (28/6/2022). (ANTARA/Sumarwoto)

CILACAP - PT Refinery Pertamina Internasional (KPI) RU IV Cilacap investigated the source of the oil spill that polluted Cilacap waters, especially the Donan River area.

Area Manager Communication, Relations and CSR of PT KPI RU IV Cilacap Cecep Supriyatna said, from a physical point of view, the spill was crude oil.

"The cause is still under investigation, our investigation," said Cecep when giving a press statement in Cilacap, Tuesday, June 28.

Prior to the oil spill, he said, in Area 70 Pertamina Cilacap there was an activity of loading oil from the pipeline to the tanker.

According to Di, his party does not yet know for sure the source of the oil spill came from a tanker or from a distribution pipe.

"Friends in Area 70 are looking for the source of the oil spill," he said, according to Antara.

Furthermore, Cecep said PT KPI RU IV Cilacap immediately mobilized a team to carry out countermeasures and cleanup after receiving information about the oil spill incident.

The PT KPI RU IV Cilacap team attempted to localize the oil spill by using an oil boom if weather conditions were favorable.

Once localized, the oil spill is sucked up and separated from the water using an oil skimmer before being put back into the tank slot.

"We have been doing the cleaning since last night as much as possible because the wind and wave conditions are not optimal. The weather conditions last night were extraordinary," said Cecep.

He said, based on observations using drones, the area affected by the oil spill was not too wide. "Only around the Batre Pier or Wijayapura," he explained.

In addition, he said, the volume of the spilled oil is estimated to be around 1,900 liters.

Regarding the oil that residents and fishermen have collected, he said that later it will be filtered or separated from the water and then put back into the tank.

According to him, his party is still recording the number of residents involved in the cleaning activities.

In this case, his party will provide compensation to residents who participated in collecting oil spills and cleaning up the waters.

"Currently we are still focusing on countermeasures. We will also coordinate with the Environment Agency regarding the next steps," said Cecep.

Previously, the Chairperson of the All-Indonesian Fishermen's Association (HNSI) of Cilacap Regency, Sarjono, said that the oil spill was first noticed by fishermen on Monday, June 27, at 17.30 WIB, until finally at 19.00 WIB the smell began to smell bad.

"This morning there was a wind from east to west, so a lot of (oil spill) collected in the Donan River around the Wijayapura Pier or Batre Pier," he said.

He hoped that there would be a response from the parties responsible for the oil spill incident.

"Maybe from Pertamina. But if I see from this morning (Pertamina) held a meeting and we hope that after it's finished we can immediately resolve this problem, especially for fishermen who help clean up the waters of this oil spill," he said.