Traditional oil workers fight to survive

By Gin Kurniawan and Risang Pamungkastiran

BOJONEGORO, East Java (JP): It is surprising that in our age of modern technology, some oil drilling activities today are managed the way they were a century ago. Such traditional mining techniques are still carried out in the middle of a teak forest in the hilly area of Wonocolo, Kasiman subdistrict, some 75 km west of Bojonegoro, East Java.

Few people are aware that oil exploitation activities are occurring in this thick teak forest owned by state forest company Perhutani. No looming oil refineries are in sight. No pipes distributing oil to refineries can be seen and the buzzing sounds of drilling machines, very common at oil fields, are not heard. The site hosts only a few simple houses for workers to rest and some towers made of teak beams.

To the residents of Kasiman subdistrict, however, these traditional oil mining activities, handed down from generation to generation, are a means of etching out a living. The mining site measures about 6 hectares and has about 196 oil wells. Only 15 of these wells are still productive today, the others having dried up years ago.

"These productive wells can produce an average of 35,000 liters of crude oil a day," said Sumewa, one of the mining coordinators.

Nowadays, the oil from Kasiman is transported in trucks to state-owned oil company PT Pertamina's facilities in Cepu to be processed into gasoline, diesel oil, benzol and asphalt. Previously, the workers processed the crude oil and sold the refined products themselves. However, in 1988 the Bojonegoro regional administration issued a regulation requiring them to send their crude oil to Pertamina. Since then, the wells at Kasiman have been under the supervision of Pertamina's Cepu office.

It is interesting to note that even after Pertamina became involved in the wells, the process of oil collection has remained traditional. The oil, which is at a depth of 300 meters to 500 meters underground, is pumped by manually operated sucker rods, or buckets with a capacity of 20 liters to 80 liters each. The equipment is created by the local oil workers.

Each team of oilmen utilizes a wooden triangular tower standing 25 meters above a well from which buckets are hung on steel wires 500 meters long. A pulley is used as a lever.

Indeed, these workers have never been acquainted with modern technology. Machines have been used in some cases, but the majority of work is done by human muscle. Some teams use old trucks to hoist the buckets, though most find this method too expensive compared to their earnings.

"Pertamina has always bought the crude oil from this area at a low price," Sudardjo said. Other workers nodded at his statement.

Within a six hour work session, a worker collects four 200- liter drums of crude oil on average. The oil is sold to Pertamina through the Boga Sasono Village Unit Cooperative, which acts as a middleman, at Rp 12,200 a drum, or about Rp 61 per liter.

"We have requested Pertamina to raise the price but it has yet to act. Honestly, at the current price, we hardly earn enough to feed our families," he added.

Of course, the workers do not receive the full amount sold for each drum. The capital owner takes a 65 percent share, leaving Rp 5,500 per drum to the workers. The workers claim that the price set by the cooperative is in fact Rp 100 per liter, but that Rp 39 goes to the Bojonegoro regional administration as a compulsory levy for road construction. An improved road system, however, has yet to be developed in the area. The road leading to the mining site remains in poor repair and is steep and full of holes.

These contract and working conditions result in a poor life for the workers. This was not always the case. There was a time when Wonocolo oil workers had their heyday. At that time, there were even some local oil "tycoons" such as Watah, the Wonocolo village head, and Kartorejo, Hargomulyo village's chief. From 1968 to 1988, these two men held a monopoly over the local oil mining activities. They were then among the wealthiest men in East Java and the people working for them were also more prosperous than today.

"After these two men died, the Bojonegoro regional administration revoked the workers' right to process and market their oil. We used to sell the oil directly to places as far away as Klaten, Solo (Surakarta) and other major cities," said Sumarto, an executive board member of the Boga Sasono cooperative.

With such limitations placed on the workers, oil production in the area has declined sharply. Many oil workers have taken up new lives as farmers, he said. He added that nothing had been done to repair the heavily damaged roads and a significant amount of neglected oil had been left to dry.

Many oil workers continue simply to keep these activities going on. They believe their traditional oil mining methods must pass the test of time.

Early on, crude oil in this area, locally known as lantung, was collected by the locals for household uses. At that time, even small streams contained a high oil content.

With the opening of Batavia Petroleum Maatschapai (BPM) in 1900, locals were no longer allowed to collect oil. Refineries were set up and modern equipment arrived. The company was licensed by the Dutch colonial government. "Historically, oil mining activities in Kasiman were initiated by the Dutch company," said Sumewa, a retired Pertamina employee.

However, after conducting oil mining activities for 35 years, BPM ceased its operations. All mining equipment was dismantled and transported elsewhere. Only drilling wells were left.

Over 20 years later, these neglected oil wells drew local interest. In 1958, they began to make use of these old oil wells. Traditional oil mining activities began in earnest and continued up to 1988. It was during this period that the Kasiman locals had their heyday.

Then came the gloomy days. The local oil worker continue, in a touching manner, to stick to their old ways. But how much longer can they go on? Soaring prices have forced them to turn to other jobs with better wages.