Oil pipeline in Indramayu leaks, causing heavy pollution

Pertamina's crude oil pipeline in Indramayu, West Java suffered another leakage on Monday, causing a serious pollution problem in many parts of Dungu Tengah village in Karang Ampel district in the regency, Media Indonesia daily reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper said that the oil spills from the leaked pipeline, which transmits the state oil and gas company's crude oil from Mundu oil field to the Balongan receiving terminal had caused a serious pollution problem in the area.

The oil leakage, which was firstly detected on Monday, had forced Pertamina to cut the crude oil transmission. A repair work is underway but it will likely take time for the company to clean the thick oil spills.

The oil leakage in Pertamina;s pipeline facilities in Indramayu was not the first. Similar oil leakages had taken place in the aging pipelines in the past. (*)