TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chief commissioner of state oil and gas firm Pertamina, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), ensured that the operational activity at Cilacap oil refinery is running normally despite the fire in one of its oil tanks. He forwarded the report on the current condition of 36T102 tank that caught fire.

"As for the refinery operation, it will run normally. The transfer of the 36T102 content and blocking have been executed, and the fire extinguishing is in progress," said the report Saturday, Nov. 13.

The tank caught fire at 19:15 Western Indonesia Time on Saturday. The cause of the fire is still unknown. When the incident occurred, the area of the refinery was showered by heavy rains accompanied with lightnings.

The officers are putting up the fire, Ahok informed. During the incident, the field officers reported that the tank was filled with Pertalite fuel.

This was not the first time the Cilacap Refinery caught fire. Last June, one of the tanks containing benzene owned by Pertamina also caught fire.

Cilacap Refinery is one of six of Pertamina oil refineries with the capacity to process 270,000 barrels per day. The refinery houses around 200 oil tanks to store the crude to be processed, as well as gas and fuel from the processed crude.

It also has a strategic value since it supplies 44 percent of national fuels and 75 percent of fuels in Java Island. In addition, the Pertamina oil refinery is the only Indonesia's refinery that produces asphalt and base oil.

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Francisca Christy Rosana