Indonesian Minister: situation improving in Pertamina refinery fire

Indonesian Minister: situation improving in Pertamina refinery fire

2011-04-05 07:22:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh on Monday said the fire-fighting efforts at the Pertamina refinery in Central Java was going well, three days after the initial explosion.

Zahedy said there was only one tank to be extinguished after the fire had been successfully isolated from damaging further tanks, Indonesia's Antara news agency reported.

One of the fire-fighting methods of using a helicopter to spread foam was postponed due to the high level of difficulty, as officials said the method had to be 99.9 percent accurate since practically all the refinery is being considered a danger zone.

On Saturday, at around 5 a.m. local time, a fire broke out at the Pertamina refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, after an explosion at the refinery's 31 T-2 tank.

Following the explosion, three tanks in the refinery's unit IV holding approximately 10,000 kiloliters of high-octane mogas component, which is used to make premium fuel, caught fire.

The first tank, 31 T-2, was completely destroyed, and the other affected tanks were 31 T-3 and 31 T-7.

Emergency crews faced further challenges on Monday after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Cilacap, but the earthquake reportedly did not damage the refinery.

Central Java police chief Inspector General Edward Aritonang said forensic investigations would be carried out to determine the cause of the fire, while physical and chemical laboratory Senior Commissioner Agus Irianto said an investigative team would do the same after the fire is completely put out.

Indonesian State Enterprise Minister Mustafa Abubakar admitted the tanks were old, but he refused to consider this as the reason of the fire, explaining that the age of the tanks does not determine their usability.

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