No sabotage behind explosion at Balikpapan oil refinery, say police

The police have eliminated sabotage as the cause of the explosion and fire that occurred at a Pertamina refinery here early this week and categorized them as a pure accident.

Superintendent Faah Sumarno, spokesman of the East Kalimantan police, said here Wednesday, an investigation conducted by a forensic team from the National Police headquarters in cooperation with the provincial police had established that the explosion and fire at the oil refinery's Unit II had happened because of a technical mistake.

"This is a pure accident. So it was not the work of saboteurs," Sumarno said.

The explosion and fire last Monday injured two workers and caused the refinery's output to drop from 265,000 barrels to 245,000 barrels per day.

Following the incident, Mines and Energy Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested the National Police and National Defence Forces (TNI) chiefs to investigate the possibility of sabotage behind the explosion.

A Pertamina spokesman, F.F. Welan said, the explosion had occurred because one of the refinery's pipes had developed a leak.

The explosion, he said, occurred so fast that the control room did not have a chance to warn security officers.

East Kalimantan provincial police chief Brig Gen Bahrumsah deplored the fact that some high-ranking government officials had publicly spoken about the possibility of sabotage behind the happening.

Their statements had only created public anxiety, he said.

"The price of security is expensive, and it is the responsibility of all of us, not only the police, to maintain it," he added.

The oil refinery on Tuesday has reported to have resumed operation, although at only 65 percent of its capacity.

The hydroskimming unit of the refinery was built in 1982 and started operation in 1984.

Pertamina rechecks the unit's condition every two years, and the latest check was made in December 1999.

Tighter security

Although the police have not found any proof of sabotage at the Balikpapan refinery, they have stepped up security at Pertamina's oil refineries in Plaju, Palembang and Prabumulih districts in South Sumatra.

"We don't want the incident in East Kalimantan to occur in South Sumatra," chief of the South Sumatra provincial police, Brig.Gen (pol) Togar Sianipar, said.

He also called for people's participation in efforts to secure all strategic installations and maintain public security in the region. (*)