Pertamina Bunyu's old well blows gas out

A gas rig in Wono Indah village in Bunyu island, owned by state oil and gas firm Pertamina, blew out on Friday evening, sprouting thousands of cubic meters of gas and causing hundreds of local people to flea the area.

Mustafa and Ilham, from the Wono Indah village, said they have to evacuated their families to Tarakan. He said he was afraid that a small fire, even from a cigarette but could ignite the gas to explode.

They said the gas explosion was resulted from an effort from Pertamina Bunyu to revive old oil wells. In the beginning the drilling of old wells did not create any problem. But a day later, the gas flew out from Rig Hoist L 360, causing the people to be panic.

They regretted Pertamina's efforts to revive old wells that were located near residential areas. Such an accident should remind Pertamina about the danger of drilling old wells in residential areas. (*)