Caltex admits Duri crude contains toxic waste

PT Caltex Pasific Indonesia has admitted that part of the mineral waste from the production of crude oil in the company's Duri field in Riau contains the B-3 toxic waste, Antara news agency reported on Monday.

The oil giant, however, denied the news that it had dumped the dangerous waste to the sea and locations outside the company's Duri oil field. "The toxic waste is still kept within the Duri field complex," the company's spokesman Poedyo Oetomo.

According to Poedyo, the formation of the crude oil pumped out from the Duri field is different from those in other field because due to the narrow condition of the oil wells, most of the crude oil came out with sands.

The crude oil drilled out from the Duri field is called sludge oil, which needs a special processing due to its high sand content, he said. "The waste from the processing of the crude oil often toxic. But they are not dumped outside the field," he said.

The office of the state minister for environmental affairs has charged Caltex of dumping toxic waste near its exploration and production areas in the Duri field. (*)