Pertamina adds fuel shipment to Papua as Kasim refinery shut down

State oil and gas company Pertamina will supply additional 8,000 barrels per day of fuel to the easternmost province of Papua after crude supply from Devon Energy?s oilfields in Salawati to Sorong?s Kasim refinery was halted due to Devon workers? strike.

?We will not ship crude to Kasim to substitute crude from Devon. That will be too costly. Instead we will just increase fuel shipment from Balikpapan refinery,? said Muchsin Bahar, Pertamina?s downstream director on a sideline of a seminar Tuesday.

Muchsin hoped the strike would end soon to enable Kasim refinery to resume production.

US independent Devon Energy has been forced to temporarily halted production activities at the company?s Salawati oil field after some 200 workers refused to end their strike against the company. The workers had also prevented Pertamina?s oil tanker from loading crude.

Muchsin guaranteed that the refinery stoppage would not disrupt Papua?s fuel supply as the as Balikpapan refinery could easily make up for Kasim?s production loss. (alex/godang)