Fire at Indonesia’s Pertamina refinery complex extinguished

Fire breaks out at a fuel storage unit at the Pertamina refinery complex in Cilacap, Central Java province, Indonesia November 14, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto/Idhad Zakaria/via REUTERS

JAKARTA — A fire at Pertamina’s refinery complex in Cilacap, Central Java province, has been fully extinguished without disrupting production activity, the chief executive of the Indonesian energy company said on Sunday.

The fire started around 7:20 p.m. (1220 GMT) on Saturday at a fuel storage unit. Amateur videos broadcast by local media showed a large blaze colouring the sky orange.

“The fire at one out of the 228 tanks at Cilacap didn’t cause any shutdown, so there was no impact to the production,” Nicke Widyawati, CEO of Pertamina, told a media briefing on Sunday.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, Nicke said.

She added that supply conditions for motor fuels and liquefied petroleum gas were secure.

Cilacap is one of Pertamina’s biggest refining facilities and supplies around 34% of Indonesia’s fuel demand, Pertamina said on its website.

The company added that around 80 people living nearby who were evacuated overnight have returned home.