Hundreds of Acehnese flee their homes after gas pipeline leak

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Hundreds of residents of North Aceh regency have been taking refuge away from their homes since Wednesday after a leak in a gas pipeline that passes through their villages.

The leak in the gas pipeline, which is owned by oil and gas company PT ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI), reportedly took place between Cluster-3 and Cluster-4 in the Arun field, some 30 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh regency.

A resident who requested anonymity said that he smelled an unpleasant odor from the pipeline and immediately reported the leak to a security guard at the Arun gas field.

The news of the gas leak quickly spread through the area and sparked panic among the residents, who then fled their homes.

A spokeswoman for the U.S.-owned oil and gas company, Deva Rachman, confirmed the leak. However, she said that it posed no danger to people or the environment.

"The leak is only in a condensate pipeline and it will not harm people or the environment," said Deva.

She said that the company had asked only four families to temporarily evacuate their homes, pending an investigation of the leak. "We have provided temporary accommodation for them," said Deva on Friday.

The company had dispatched a team of experts to investigate the leak and expected that the problem would be quickly fixed.

The leak's effects on the residents is still unknown. Those residents who chose to stay put near the pipeline have so far only said that the foul odor was annoying.

Meanwhile, village head Fauzi told Antara that the residents had been evacuated some 500 meters away from Cluster-3 and Cluster-4. Fauzi said that he had been told by an ExxonMobile officer that the leak was not from a gas pipeline but from an inactive condensate pipeline.

"But, if the condensate pipeline is not active, why are people being told not to build fires for cooking?" asked Fauzi as quoted by Antara.