Riau oil pipelining halted

JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina said on Thursday it lacked funds to build a new oil pipeline in Lirik, Riau, to replace the damaged one currently in place.

Company spokesman Toto Suparto said the pipeline, used to transport crude oil from the oil fields in the area to Pertamina's oil terminal in Buatan, Riau, was too old to function properly. He said Pertamina lacked the resources to develop a new pipeline in the area.

Constructed 43 years ago, the 160-kilometer pipeline stopped functioning in December 1998, forcing oil companies in the area, including publicly listed oil company PT Medco Energy Corporation, to suspend operations.

Before interruption of its operation, Medco produced 3,500 barrels of oil per day.

"Pertamina has spent Rp 5 billion repairing the old pipeline over the past six months, but thus far, the pipeline remains out of order," Toto told The Jakarta Post.

Toto said Pertamina was still trying to repair the old pipeline, but he could not give a timeframe for completion of the work.(jsk)