Nine people were injured, and several houses and houses of worship sustained damage after a fire broke out at the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina refinery in Dumai, Riau province, on April 1, 2023. Recurring fire incidents at Pertamina fuel processing and storage has raised questions about the management‘s monitoring of safety procedure.

Area Manager Communication, Relations, & CSR RU Dumai, Agustiawan said Pertamina said several people suffered injuries and were sent home after getting treatment at Pertamina's hospital in Dumai.

"Currently, the cause of the incident is being investigated," Agustiawan said in a statement on April 2, 2023, adding that the fire broke out in the compressor gas area on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

The emergency team successfully handled the incident and controlled the situation at 22:54 hours local time. Refinery operation was halted to ensure safety in the location of the fire while emergency teams were attempting to put out the fire.

PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (PT KPI) in Dumai has established a recovery team involving local government, law enforcers, and people's representatives to accelerate recovery measures. The company is collecting data on local people affected by the fire and providing medical teams provide first aid and treatment for the victims.

"We make sure that our national fuel stocks, especially in the north part of Sumatera, are safe," said Agustiawan.

Around one month ago, a fire broke out followed by an explosion at the Pertamina oil depot in Plumpang, Koja, Jakarta. The fire spread to nearby residential areas, resulting in 33 fatalities and hurting dozens of others.

Possible causes

Expert on occupational health and safety (K3) Suratman Irwan said that fuel storage depots and refineries are very complex and vulnerable workplaces. Most refineries must operate 24 hours a day and never stop to ensure fuel supply.

Irwan explained that there are many factors that can cause work accidents in a refinery. "We do not want work accidents, but if the accidents happened several times, people would ask what had happened. Lack of management, supervision, or engineering or the competency of the workers?" Irwan said.

The Director General of Oil and Gas has set high safety standards for the operation of refineries. All oil and gas installations are under the supervision of the director general of oil and gas. "There are Director General of Oil and Gas regulations that stipulate that all equipment needs to be tested and checked. However, sometimes, there is human error," Irwan added.

Economist push for change of directors and commissioners

Energy economist from Gadjah Mada University Fahmi Radhi said that the recurring incidents at Pertamina's fuel storage depot and refineries show how terrible the safety system employed by the company. At the same time, there are no serious and sustained efforts by the management to stop the fire incidents. "There is no investigative audit and feasibility audit against the refineries because the fire incidents occurred again," Radhi explained.

As a result, Radhi requested that the government replace all current Pertamina directors and commissioners. "As a form of responsibility, the top management, including commissioners and directors, need to be replaced because the incidents took place several times and took the lives of many people," Radhi added.

Pertamina's Vice President of Corporate Communication, Fadjar Djoko Santoso, said that Pertamina is treating the fire incidents as lessons learned and is looking for ways to improve the company's Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) guideline. "Pertamina will continue to improve the HSSE based on the benchmark of the energy company, new technology, and regulation," he said.