Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government should halt all resource exploration on the densely-populated island of Java, since it does not have adequate safety measures to mitigate mining-related accidents, environmental groups say.
The Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam) and the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) demanded that the government immediately review the licenses of all oil and gas explorations and operations on Java to anticipate accidents that could endanger lives.
During the review period, they added, all mining operations should be suspended until the government established procedures to mitigate the impacts of mining accidents. "The people's protection and safety must be a priority in granting oil and gas mining permits," said the groups in a joint press statement.
Jatam and Walhi accused the government of dealing poorly with mining accidents, as reflected in its management of the recent explosion at PetroChina's exploratory site in Bojonegoro regency, East Java. Authorities have also failed to stop the flow of hot toxic mud from the PT Lapindo Brantas gas well in Sidoarjo, East Java.
The explosion killed at least one person and displaced thousands. The toxic mud has flooded hundreds of hectares of land, forcing thousands to flee, and has caused respiratory problems for local residents. The mud incident has also cost local businesses billions of rupiah.
Although police have arrested the directors of Lapindo, which is owned by the family of State Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, the government has not revoked the company's operating license.
"It seems that the government is only capable of collecting taxes and royalties from oil and gas operations," said Walhi mining and energy campaigner Torry Kuswardono.
He said accidents involving mining operations have always brought suffering to local people, while the companies that caused the problems were often allowed to continue operating.
"We understand that East Java has rich oil and gas potential, but its geological structures are prone to drilling accidents," said Jatam energy campaigner Andrie S. Wijaya.
He said about 13 million people are living in 16 of the 20 oil and gas mining blocks on Java. Those facilities are operated by state-owned Pertamina and foreign companies such as British Petroleum, US-based Exxon Mobile, Santos of Australia and China's PetroChina.
"Considering the poor capacity of our government (to prevent accidents) and the existing weak regulations, the lives of those people are at risk," he said.
However, Andrie said he realized that scrapping all mining activities was impossible in East Java, which is home to abundant energy: approximately 283 million barrels of oil and 5.2 trillion standard cubic feet of proven and potential gas capacity.
"A strict and sound protocol on standard operating procedures for exploration and exploitation could prevent people from suffering in accidents," he said, adding that Malaysia and China had adopted such procedures.