Indonesia oil well explodes, thousands evacuated

INDONESIA: An explosion at an oil well in East Java province triggered an evacuation and more than 200 people were treated for breathing problems after some lost consciousness, officials said on Saturday.

The well, located in the Bojonegoro area, is operated by state oil company Pertamina and PetroChina and officials said the fire was now out with no impact on production after the explosion shortly after midnight on Saturday morning.

"Suddenly, residents saw a big fire ball in the sky with a thunderous sound," Rumhadi, a local police chief, said by telephone.

A local official in Bojonegoro told a radio programme some people had been hospitalised because of respiratory problems and after losing consciousness.

Rustam Pakaya, a senior health ministry official, told Reuters that there had been no casualties but 210 people had been treated in hospital with one kept in.

He said 2,600 people had been evacuated and 12,000 were close enough to suffer potential health problems from the fumes.

Ari Sumarno, director of Pertamina, said that water and mud had been used to quell the flames. "Initially, we were worried about H2S (hydrogen sulphide) gas emerging, causing many people to go to hospital because they were worried about poisoning."

An official from Indonesian oil and gas regulator BPMIGAS also said the situation had been brought under control.

"There was a blow out when conducting development well. There is no impact to the oil production. The well is under control."

SURABAYA, Sunday Reuters