Caltex operations unaffected by haze

JAKARTA (JP): The haze problem does not affect the operation of Riau-based PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia, the country's largest crude oil producer, says an executive.

Deputy vice president in charge of Pertamina's foreign contractor-venture development, Sungarna Sukandar, said yesterday that operations in Caltex's oil fields in Riau continued despite the haze problem.

He said the company could still maintain a production level of 758,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which started in May, have caused a serious haze problem not only on the two islands but also in the neighboring countries of Singapore and Malaysia.

Caltex, which produces half of the country's total oil production, has reportedly evacuated many sick workers and their families to safe areas outside Riau due to the haze.

The company, which is co-owned by U.S. giant oil companies Chevron Corp and Texaco Inc, currently operates oil fields in Rokan, Siak, Coastal Plain and Kuantan, all in Riau.

Sungarna said although flights to Simpang Tiga Airport in Riau's capital of Pekanbaru had stopped for a few weeks, Caltex could still obtain necessary materials for its operation from Batam island.

"Thus far, there is no problem with sea transportation linking Riau's seaport of Dumai to Batam. So materials for Caltex's operations can be supplied through Batam," Sungarna said.

The distribution of crude oil from Caltex's oil fields also remained undisturbed by the haze, Sungarna said.

"The crude oil is piped to the Dumai seaport, where it is picked up by tankers and shipped abroad," he explained at a discussion on an oil-spill contingency plan.

The discussion was held yesterday to think of measures for the handling of oil spills caused by a collision involving oil tankers.

A deputy at the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) P.L. Coutrier, said the discussion was held due to the haze. He said if it got worse, it could endanger sea transportation and increase the risk of oil tankers crashing into other ships. (jsk)