Explosion occurs at Pertamina?s refinery in Palembang

A strong explosion occurred at the feeder current compressor unit (FCCU) of Pertamina?s refinery plant in Sungai Gerong, Palembang on Monday morning, halting all the production activities at the crude oil processor, Media Indonesia reported on Friday.

Witnesses told the daily that the strong explosion, followed by thick smoke at around 9 a.m., caused panic among residents nearby but no deaths or injuries were reported.

The FCCU which is one of important facilities at the Sungai Gerong refinery plant processes crude oil to meet the fuel needs for South Sumatra and surroundings.

Supakso, the general manager of Pertamina UP III, which operates the refinery plant, said that the production activities were halted but he maintained that there was no big problem in the FCCU unit.

He said that he had asked Jakarta to supply fuel to Palembang until the plant could be operated normally. According to him, the explosion occurred when the processing unit was about to undergo a routine overhaul. (*).