Medco to review S. Sumatra security measures: Report

Publicly listed oil and gas producer PT Medco Energi International Tbk said on Wednesday it will be reviewing hazard control and security measures at its South Sumatra operations after an attempted equipment theft caused a fire to break out, Dow Jones Newswires quoted a company official as saying on Wednesday.

Four people were killed in the fire which occurred on Sunday near the Kaji oil field operated by Medco?s unit PT Exspan Nusantara.

?Together with the police, we are still investigating the causes of the fire,? the Medco official said.

The fire broke out after four suspects tried to steal an oil pipeline valve worth US$15,000 in pre-dawn hours. A pipe burst into flames, killing three of the four people. One of the suspects fled, but an innocent local near the crime scene died from the fire.

It was the third theft attempt so at Medco?s South Sumatra oil operations. Meanwhile, it was also one of the two fires at its operations this week.

Exspan?s East Kalimantan gas well reactivation efforts were struck by a fire owing to a gas blowout incident on Monday.

Exspan has oil and gas interest in Sumatra, Java, East Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi. (*)