Pertamina Asked to Move Jakarta Oil Depot After Deadly Fire

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia’s state petroleum company PT Pertamina may need to relocate its fuel storage depot in Jakarta following a fire that killed dozens of people on Friday night. 

Pertamina and other state firms must work with local governments to evaluate the spatial layout of vital facilities to make sure they are located at a safe distance from residential areas, State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir said in Saturday briefing. 

“If (a safe distance) is not possible, we may have to relocate. There’s been a push since two years ago to move Plumpang depot to the port area owned by Pelindo,” said Thohir, following advice from Vice President Ma’ruf Amin when he visited the scene earlier today.

National Police spokeperson Dedi Prasetyo clarified that 15 fatalities had been recorded, fewer than the 17 deaths initially reported. The police are still looking for missing people and continue investigating the cause of the blaze at the depot, which mainly distributes fuel to Indonesia’s capital and the West Java area.

A resident surveys burnt homes following a fire near a Pertamina facility in Jakarta on March 4.Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

The fire broke out at Plumpang Integrated Terminal in north Jakarta at 8:20 p.m. local time Friday and was put out around 10 p.m., according to Irto Ginting, corporate secretary of commercial unit Pertamina Patra Niaga, in a statement. There were two children among the victims.

Pertamina said it will be able to maintain sufficient fuel supply with back-up support from other facilities in the area.

Burnt homes near Pertamina facility in Jakartaa.Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

In 2009, the depot was hit by a major fire that officials attributed to human error.

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