Gas Supply Repairs to Take Three Weeks
Monday, 27 November, 2006 | 18:08 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: It is estimated that the gas supply from PT PGN (the state gas company) to several industries in East Java will only start flowing maximally in two or three weeks’ time.

Up until yesterday (26/11), PGN was still trying to make the gas able to flow again even though in small quantities.

Widyatmiko Bapang, PGN’s Corporate Secretary, said the installation of line valves was almost finished.

However he has not yet confirmed when exactly the gas will start to flow again and how much.

“But we are trying so that the gas can start flowing again today (yesterday),” said Widyatmiko in Jakarta yesterday.

Nonetheless, up until the time that this report was written, there was still no supply of gas.

From Sidoarjo, Joko S.D., PGN’s Assistant Manager of Operational and Marketing, said that now what Pertamina could do was to relocate gas pipelines that belong to PGN.

“The gas supply to PT PLN and PT Petrokimia Gresik is not yet working because it still awaits the relocation of PGN’s pipelines.”

PGN’s gas supply was halted after Pertamina’s pipe exploded in the area of Lapindo Brantas Inc’s drilling area in Porong, Sidoarjo, on Wednesday (22/11) night.

This gas pipe transfers between 130 million and 140 million cubic feet of gas everyday.

The gas was from a gas field managed by Santos Inc amounting to 80 million cubic feet per day and the remainder was from Energi Mega Persada Kangean.

Widyatmoko explained that even if the line valves had been installed, it was still not yet certain that the gas could flow normally amounting to between 130 million to 140 million cubic feet per day.

Gas procurement must be carried out gradually in stages.

However, now there is still gas supply for East Java from the gas field managed by Kodeco Energy and Lapindo, with 50 million cubic feet per day.

This gas supply is taken from the gas pipe that was not hit by the explosion.

But this is still insufficient, especially for 40 major industries in East Java.

Nieke and Rachman Taufik (Sidoarjo)