Pertamina pledges to quickly fix pipeline
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina vowed on Friday to complete in three months the repair work on the gas pipeline transporting natural gas from Kangean island in the Madura Straits to East Java's mainland.
The repair work will start in November and is expected to be completed in January next year, said Pertamina's upstream deputy director Eteng A. Salam.
According to Eteng, the repair work will focus on how to install new buffers to strengthen the pipeline's fixture on the seabed.
"The installment (of several additional buffers) is badly needed, because, based on the latest inspection, the pipeline no longer touches the seabed in some places," Eteng was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
According to Eteng, the pipeline no longer touched the seabed at places between Raas and Kangean islands due to erosion caused by strong currents.
In anticipation of trouble, London-based BP Plc, which operates gas fields in Kangean and supplies it through the pipeline, declared on Wednesday the area around the troubled section of the pipeline as a danger zone. The area measures 500 square kilometers.
BP has called on all vessels to avoid the area, citing the high risk of fire and explosion.
The 28-diameter-inch pipeline stretches 440 kilometers from Kangean to East Java's mainland, passing through a 370-km offshore section.
The pipeline supplies gas to vital companies such as state- owned electricity company PT PLN, state-owned fertilizer firm PT Petrokimia Gresik, and state-owned gas distribution and transmission company PT Gas Negara.
BP further clarified Thursday's report by The Post that the strong currents had ripped loose a section of the underwater pipeline.
"The pipelines have not been damaged yet," company vice president Satya W. Yudha, said in a statement.
BP is the largest gas supplier to East Java with a total supply of 200 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD). Gas supply to the province totals 260 MMCFD, while, according to the industry data, demand reaches 400 MMCFD.
Meanwhile, Eteng said the repair work might reduce the volume of gas transported to the East Java mainland, as the work would require a reduction in gas pressure.
However, this might not pose a problem as other gas suppliers in the province, such as South Korean firm Kodeco and local firm Lapindo Brantas were ready to offset the shortage in gas supplies to the mainland.
"The supply of gas to East Java area is assured while the repairs are in process," said Eteng.
Meanwhile, PLN president director Eddie Widdiono acknowledged that the pipeline trouble had once disrupted power generation at its 750-Megawatt Gresik power plant.
"The power plant was forced to be temporarily shut down after the pipeline trouble. However, shortly after that, the operation of the power plant returned to normal," Eddie told the Post on Friday.
A senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Luluk Sumiarso asserted that the gas shortage would not obstruct electricity supply to the public.
"There is always a contingency plan. Pertamina has readied oil fuel for the power plants in East Java," he told the Post.