To Prevent Oil Refinery Fires From Recurring, Minister Of State-Owned Enterprises Asks Pertamina To Make Standardizations

SOE Minister Erick Thohir. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir asked PT Pertamina (Persero) to have standardization regarding refineries.

This is to prevent the return of fires in the refinery area.

"Yesterday, I called Pertamina's directors, I also had another meeting to ensure there is a standardization, considering this is a vital matter," said Erick Thohir, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, May 18.

Erick admitted that he had warned, even replaced Pertamina's directors.

However, he continued, the step of changing directors is not a continuous solution.

"Frankly, I also have empathy for the victims. This is the reason why we must be better," said Erick Thohir.

According to him, to become a global company, BUMN must have good benchmarks or references in running this type of business.

For example, it is impossible to have a healthy airline industry, but benchmarking is not well managed like Garuda Indonesia.

"But that doesn't mean we give up. Of course we need to improve, so yesterday we pushed for better Garuda operations," said Erick Thohir.

Previously, PT Pertamina (Persero) stated that the fire incident at Plant 5, which is one of the units in the Balikpapan Refinery area, did not interfere with the supply of fuel oil to the public.

Pertamina guarantees that the stock of fuel at the Balikpapan Refinery is still sufficient to meet the supply needs of the BBM Terminal in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

The Pertamina International refinery will use Pertamina Patra Niaga components taken from the Tanjung Uban BBM Terminal. High Octane Mogas Component (HOMC) is a component needed to produce high octane fuel, such as Pertamax.

Production and supply of fuel to the community can still run normally without any problems.

In fact, Pertamina has also prepared a supply transfer scenario, in coordination with the Pertamina Group in anticipation and to ensure the fulfillment of people's fuel needs.