Hundreds of Acehnese flee their homes after gas pipeline leak
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.