Fuel supply safe despite fire at Balikpapan refinery

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina said that supply of fuels including aviation fuel (avtur) and diesel oil for Kalimantan and other parts of eastern Indonesia is safe despite the fire which razed one of the processing units of the Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan.

?Fuel supply from the Balikpapan refinery is safe,? Pertamina?s Vice President for Communications Basuki Trikora Putra said in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said the fire which partially razed the Unit A of the Balikpapan refinery has not much affected fuel processing activities at the refinery, because the Unit B of the refinery, which has the capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, continued operating normally.

The fire occurred on Saturday evening at the Reboiler Hydro Cracker A Train A (HCC- A), which produces fuels with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd). The fire was totally stopped at midnight.

The supply of avtur and diesel oil from Kalimantan and eastern Indonesia which reaches 15,593 kiloliters and 1,000 kiloliters, respectively, will be provided from other sources, until the Unit A resumes operation.

As of Jan. 16, 2010, the national stocks for Premium gasoline is sufficient for 17 days of consumption, while kerosene, diesel oil and avtur are sufficient for 56 days, 12 days and 29 days of consumption, respectively. (godang).