Oil well catches fire, seven injured
Monday, December 17 2012 - 02:02 AM WIB
The old well Buluh Telang in Langkat regency of North Sumatra province caught fire last Friday, causing seven people injured.
?The fire occurred on Friday (14th Desember 2012) at around 05.00 in the morning local time when a number of people illegally tried to drill the already old well,? upstream authority SKSP Migas Public Relations, Security, and Formality Division Head A.Rinto Pudyantoro told Petromindo.com in Jakarta on Monday.
He said that five of the injured were in critical condition and had been taken to Adam Malik hospital in Medan, while the other two ? slightly injured ? were taken to Tanjung Pura state hospital.
According to him, the local people only relied on their traditional way of mining oil well, without employing the safety standards and procedures of drilling such well.
The workers had drilled up to the depth of 120 meters when the well caught fire, apparently being caused by their torch. But previously, they had managed to get up to seven tons of crude oil.
PT Pertamina that manages Pangkalan Susu field in North Sumatra had sent a fire brigade, but they were not able to reach the fire location as there is no access road leading to the site. It is about 400 meters from the main road.
PT Pertamina EP and energy and mineral resources office of the local administration said that they had launched social campaigns several times to discourage local people from mining the old wells in the area.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.