Villagers threaten to block Balongan
Villagers threaten to block Balongan
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Shrimp farmers and fishermen from Indramayu, West Java, have
threatened to blockade the Balongan oil refinery owned by state
oil and gas firm PT Pertamina if the latter fails to clean up oil
spills in the area.
If the blockade eventuates, supply of oil-based fuel to
Jakarta could be disrupted as 60 percent of output from the
Balongan facility is sent to the capital.
"Pertamina has been lying. It has done nothing. We will
blockade Balongan so it cannot ship oil fuel to Jakarta," Nono
Sudarsono of the Coalition of Indramayu Coastal Community (Kompi)
said on Tuesday, adding that they planned to blockade the
refinery for two days starting April 26.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a rally at Pertamina's
headquarters. The protesters said oil and waste from the Balongan
facility had been polluting their shrimp farms and local coastal
areas since 1999.
The farmers and fishermen decided on the blockade after they
failed to reach an agreement with Pertamina officials in a
meeting on Tuesday.
Nono said Pertamina had done little to clean up the waste even
though the Ministry of the Environment reported in 2003 that the
pollution of local coastal areas and shrimp farms came from the
refinery and insisted that the company clean it up.
Located in Indramayu regency, the Balongan refinery produces
between 100,000 and 125,000 barrels per day of fuel, or 10
percent of Pertamina's total production. The firm produces some
one million barrels of fuel per day from its seven refineries.
Sixty percent of the Balongan production goes to Jakarta. It
produces premium gas, kerosene and diesel fuel.
Some 10,000 hectares out of 20,000 hectares of shrimp farms
have been polluted in the area, causing shrimp farmers to suffer
heavy financial losses of Rp 2.7 trillion over the past five
years.
The farmers also demanded that Pertamina manage sludge or
residue from oil processing at the refinery as sludge also
contaminates the sea and gradually reduces fish stocks.
The pollution has affected the livelihood of 1,700 fishermen
and 32,000 shrimp farmers, they said.
Pertamina has dismissed the charges.
Pertamina spokesman Hanung Budya Yukyanta said an oil spill
occurred in 1999 when the pipeline used to transport crude oil
from ships to the refinery leaked.
"There has been no oil spill or pollution problems since then.
We repaired the pipeline, and then closed it down in August
2003," Hanung said.
He added that oil spills could come from abandoned oil and gas
platforms in the sea that were not properly taken care of by
production-sharing contractors.
"The platforms are still there, it could come from there, not
just from our operation," Hanung said.
The company, Hanung said, manages waste from the refinery
according to regulations set by the Ministry of the Environment.
Hanung said Pertamina had carried out programs as recommended
by the ministry to minimize pollution in the area.
Pertamina has a team tasked with cleaning up the coast in the
event of an oil spill and has worked with Indramayu government to
manage the sludge, Hanung added.
However, in a copy of a letter from the Indramayu regent to
Pertamina dated Feb. 19, 2004, Indramayu regent said the company
had yet to submit a plan on tackling pollution.
Hanung said the company was committed to environmental
protection ahead of its planned initial public offering in 2007.
"We are very concern about environmental issues because it
would affect our image in the eyes of investors," Hanung said.