House Calls for Major Change in Pertamina Following Oil Refinery Fire

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representatives (DPR) deputy speaker Eddy Soeparno on Tuesday urged state-energy firm Pertamina to thoroughly audit its oil and gas facilities and implement better safety protocols. This comes after an oil refinery in the area of Dumai went ablaze.

“If another incident reoccurs, it means there is a problem of competence at Pertamina’s leadership level,” said Eddy to Tempo on March 4. 

However, he maintains that terminating members of the directors will not be a solution to the issue that has marred the company for a long time and made it clear that a safety system improvement is more pressing. 

“We don’t want to only switch the directors but without strengthening its system,” he added. 

The House deputy speaker, therefore, urged Pertamina to establish a special directory that oversees the issues related to health, safety, security, and environment (HSSE). Talks about establishing this division have emerged since the explosion at Pertamina’s oil refinery depot at Plumpang, Jakarta, in March. 

The spokesperson for the company Fadjar Djoko Santoso said Pertamina is studying the suggestions that have come from both the government and House legislators. “The orders had come not only from members of the House but also from the government. Surely, as a state-owned company, Pertamina is up for the job,” said Fadjar to Tempo on April 4. 

RIRI RAHAYU

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