Commission VII Of The House Of Representatives Requests A Thorough Investigation Of The Balikpapan Oil Refinery Fire

Pertamina's oil refinery in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, caught fire. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VII DPR RI Diah Nurwitasari asked PT Pertamina to immediately investigate the oil refinery fire in Balikpapan.

Diah said a thorough investigation needed to be carried out to determine the exact cause of the incident.

As is known, there have been two fire incidents at the Balikpapan Oil Refinery this year.

The first fire occurred in March, and the second on Sunday 15 May 2022.

"We are concerned about several incidents of Pertamina oil refinery fires. The last one occurred in Balikpapan and killed one person. In the midst of our condition that we want to increase oil production, especially BBM in Indonesia, fires often occur at refineries," Diah said in a written statement to the media. , Tuesday 17 May.

According to Diah, the fire at Pertamina's oil refinery will affect the supply of fuel oil (BBM) to the public

"In Commission VII of the DPR RI, it is likely that during this session we will continue to discuss domestic fuel prices. Because we are now entering a preliminary discussion regarding the 2023 State Budget, we need to pay close attention to how the development of international oil and gas prices and their impact on Indonesia," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Director of Oil and Gas Engineering and Environment at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Mirza Mahendra said that he would investigate the cause of the fire that killed one worker.

"Currently, we are in the early stages of handling and recovering first. Investigations are carried out when the conditions have been handled," said Mirza.