Pertamina's pipelines in South Sumatera need replacement
Wednesday, October 27 2004 - 02:37 AM WIB
Pertamina's pipeline network, which transmits crude oil from a number of oil concession areas in South Sumatera and Jambi to the crude processing facility in Sungai Gerong, Palembang has been too old to operate, Neraca reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said that leakages had often taken place in the 102- kilometer section of the 270 kilometer pipeline, which transmit crude oil of about 23,000 barrels per day (bpd). The leakage has caused a serious pollution to the area near the pipeline.
Pertamina's official said that the leakages had caused a loss of about 2-3 bpd. "The loss of the crude oil from the leakages is still relatively small, but the impact of the leakage on the environment should not be tolerated," he added.
The local authority had appealed to Pertamina and its partners to replace the old crude pipelines, which have been in operation since 1933 in order to minimize the impact of the oil leakage on the environment. (*).