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PT Energi Mega Persada, the publicly listed oil company that
indirectly owns Lapindo, the company synonymous with the Sidoarjo mud
volcano, announced Monday it had restored gas supplies from the Kangean
PSC gas field last Friday after an explosion ripped apart the gas
pipeline nine days earlier.
"The gas flow was halted on Nov. 22 due to the ruptured pipe. As of
midnight Friday, we succeeded in restoring the flow through the PGN
pipeline in Porong," said EMP vice president for capital markets,
Herwin W. Hidayat.
"As of today, we are pumping through 45 million cubic feet per day of
gas," Herwin said.Herwin explained that the pipeline, owned by state
gas company PGN, was only able to deliver 67 million cubic feet per
day,
with 45 million of this belonging to EMP, and the other 22 to Santos
Maleo.
The allocations were made by PGN based on recommendations from the
Upstream Oil and Gas Regulator (BP Migas), so as to secure gas
production and avoid gas flaring at the Kangean PSC.
The gas supply from Kangean was shut for nine days due to the fatal
rupture of the PT Pertamina gas pipe distributing EMP's gas from
Kangean. The incident killed 12 people and injured 11 other, some of
whom were monitoring the situation at the Sidoarjo mudflow.
The pipe rupture is said by analysts to be the result of land
subsidence in the area due to the weight and heat of the mud.
Around 56 percent of EMP is owned by the Bakrie Group, 14 percent by
Reiner Latief and the rest by the investing public.
Apart from the Kangean PSC, the company also owns a 50 percent working
share in the Brantas PSC Banjar Panji well, the site of the mud
volcano, through its subsidiary, Lapindo Brantas Inc.
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