Pertamina puts off gas blowout

State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina said on Monday it had under complete control the gas blowout at its exploration well in Cepu, Blora regency, Central Java.

Pertamina's spokesman Ridwan Nyak Baik said the company eventually managed to install a new blowout preventer (BOP) to control the fire and gas blowout over the weekend.

"We finally managed to install the BOP after confronting various obstacles, such as heavy rain," he told The Jakarta Post.

It took 45 days for Pertamina to put out the gas blowout at the RBT 1 exploration well, which occurred on Feb. 25.

The state company initially promised to put it out within 30 days.

There were no fatalities but hundreds of villagers have reportedly undergone medical treatment due to the blowout.

The US$15 million rig was destroyed during the accident.

In addition, the accident caused an estimated Rp 7 billion ($760,000) in environmental damage.

"We're still calculating the total amount in losses," he said. -- JP