Pertamina confirms oil tanker accident; oil spill

Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina confirmed on Tuesday that an oil tanker carrying light crude from Brunei ran aground on Friday morning, causing an oil spill off the coast of Cilacap, Central Java.

"We are still trying to prevent the oil spill from spreading further," Dwi Martono, Pertamina's acting spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

The oil spill has reached a three-kilometer radius, he said, but the tanker, Lucky Lady, "has already docked."

Dwi was unable to specify the quantity of crude oil that leaked, but said the cargo, which he estimates around 608,000 barrels, was bound for Pertamina's Cilacap oil refinery.

Another official at Pertamina said the leakage has stopped due to hydrostatic balancing.

He added that Pertamina will conduct an investigation on the accident. (*)