The fire incident at the Pertamina Plumpang Oil Fuel Terminal (TBBM) in North Jakarta on Friday, March 3, 2023, at 8:20 PM WIB, resulted in 19 deaths and dozens of injuries from burns.
A joint team is currently investigating the cause of the explosion and fire at the Pertamina depot. The Indonesian National Police (Polri) is one of the teams involved.
Based on initial reports received by National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the activity preceding the fire at the depot involved the filling of Pertamax fuel, delivered from Balongan.
Sigit stated that during the filling process, a suspected technical malfunction caused excessive pressure, leading to the fire.
However, Sigit emphasized that the joint investigation team will further investigate the initial source of the fire. He mentioned that the team is examining several witnesses and CCTV footage from the Plumpang area, and will utilize Scientific Crime Investigation (SCI) methods.
"The team is currently investigating to determine the source of the fire," said Sigit in a written statement after visiting the Pertamina Plumpang TBBM in North Jakarta on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
After the fire was extinguished, operations at the Plumpang TBBM have returned to normal. Pertamina also guarantees that the supply of fuel and LPG remains secured.
Pertamina's President Director, Nicke Widyawati, stated that to maintain supply stability, fuel and LPG supplies will be deployed from the nearest terminals.
"It's ensured that gas stations will not experience queues, so there's no need for panic buying. Fuel stocks in Jakarta, Banten, and West Java are sufficient," said Nicke at the Pertamina Central Hospital, South Jakarta, on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
The Pertamina Plumpang TBBM is one of the depots that makes a significant contribution. Its supply reaches 20% of Indonesia's daily fuel needs, or 25% of the total needs of Pertamina gas stations.
This data is based on a publication taken by Pertamina from Global Tank Storage. In fact, at the 2nd Global Tank Storage Award 2018, Plumpang was awarded second place in the category of *The Most Efficient Storage Terminal*, after Saudi Aramco Terminals.
Global Tank Storage states that the throughput of the Plumpang depot reaches 16,504 kiloliters per day, with its main distribution area covering Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi). This TBBM also has a storage tank capacity of 291,889 kiloliters.
The Pertamina Plumpang TBBM first operated in 1974. Currently, the Plumpang depot distributes a complete range of fuels, namely Premium, Bio Solar, Dex, Dexlite, Pertamax, Pertalite, and Pertamax Turbo, through a world-class Terminal Automation System (TAS), commonly known as the New Gantry System, to 249 tanker compartments.