Pertamina ignored locals’ warning, says Indonesian Ombudsman over Balongan refinery fire

A farmer works in his field as smoke billows from a fire at Balongan refinery, operated by state oil company Pertamina, in Indramayu, West Java on March 30, 2021. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The Indonesian Ombudsman has slammed state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina for ignoring locals’ complaints over a pungent smell likened to a fuel leak in the hours before the company’s Balongan refinery in West Java was engulfed in flames on March 29.

The Ombudsman said on Wednesday (April 14) that ignoring the complaints was a misstep and that heeding the warning might have reduced the damage caused in the incident that ended up displacing nearly 900 residents and killing two.