Update 1: Pivotal gas pipeline in East Java explodes near Lapindo's mud

A pivotal pipeline that transmits natural gas from offshore East Java to the province?s industry exploded on Wednesday evening, forcing state oil and gas company PT Pertamina that owns the pipeline to suspend the operation of the pipeline.

The explosion occurred at around 8 p.m. near the Banjar Panji exploration well in Porong, Sidoarjo, according to Pertamina?s officials.

Banjar Panji is the well owned by PT Lapindo Brantas Indonesia that has been gushing mudflow for about seven months.

?The explosion resulted in a fire that lasted about ten minutes from 8.15 p.m. and 8.25 p.m. We haven?t yet get any reports about fatalities or injuries caused by the incident,? Pertamina?s vice president Iin Arifin Takhyan told Petromindo.Com via phone Wednesday night.

Iin said Pertamina immediately closed down the East Java Gas Pipeline as part of the emergency response plan.

Andriansyah, a senior exploration and production official in East Java, told Petromindo that the company suspected the explosion was caused by ?plastic deformation? as result of the land shift caused by Lapindo?s mudflow.

?The scene of the explosion is only about 250 meters from the Banjar Panji well,? Andriansyah said

He explained that the 28-inch pipeline is used to transmit 140 million cubic feet (MMCFD) of natural gas from the gas fields owned by Australian firm Santos Ltd (62 MMCFD) offshore East Java and the Kangean block in Madura area owned by PT Energi Mega Persada, the parent company of Lapindo Brantas.

Of the total supplies, 78 MMCFD is delivered to state owned gas transmission and distribution firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), 50 MMCFD to petrochemical firm Petrokimia Gresik and 12 MMCFD to state owned electricity firm PT PLN.

Meanwhile, PGN said it is preparing an emergency measure to continue supplying natural gas to its industrial customers in the province.

PGN?s president Soetikno admitted that the pipelines transmits among others its gas supplies from the Maleo field owned by Australian firm Santos (Madura Offshore) Pty Ltd.

?(As a result of the incident) gas supply from Santos has automatically come to a halt. What we are going to try to do is close the Pertamina pipeline using a 28-inch valve and transmit (Santos?) gas through interconnection pipe owned by PGN in Porong,? PGN?s president Soetikno told Petromindo via telephone Wednesday night.

?If everything goes well, (the effort to resume gas supplies to customers) will be completed in three days,? he said.

PGN started supplying natural gas from Maleo field in September this year. Under the gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) with Santos, PGN will a total of 243 billion cubic feet of gas from Santos over a period of 8 to 12 years.

PGN distributes the gas to its industrial costumers in the province. (Godang)