Mud flow blamed for Java gas blast

Sidoarjo, Indonesia: Indonesia blamed an uncontrolled mud flow yesterday for a gas pipeline explosion that killed at least seven people and injured 12 on Java island.

The late Wednesday blast - which disrupted gas operations in the area - occurred near the city of Surabaya in a part of the state-owned Pertamina East Java Gas Pipeline.

The incident happened in the area where hot mud has been gushing from near the Banjar Panji exploratory gas well since the end of May following a drilling accident, inundating several villages and causing an unfolding environmental disaster.

"The explosion was caused by land subsidence, which had weakened a dam. It broke the transmission pipe which then made the pressure rise to 400 psi (pounds per square inch) and the gas automatically shut down while the remaining gas ignited," Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters.

He said the mud flow that began on May 29 made the soil sink, adding seven people were killed in the blast, 12 injured and 4 reported missing. He dismissed risks of another blast.

One of the bodies could not be identified because it was charred beyond recognition, Basuki Hadimulyono, the head of the government's mud task force, said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters authorities "would take steps needed to ensure that the situation would not deteriorate further".

A Pertamina official said the blast's cause was not known. "We don't know exactly why the gas pipe exploded but the effect of the blast stopped gas distribution for Surabaya and Gersik," said Sukadi, Pertamina's gas transmission chief for East Java distribution.

Another official said there had been a long-standing plan to move the pipeline from the mud area. Officials said most of those killed by the accident, which occurred at around 7pm (1230 GMT), were military and other government personnel involved in trying to secure the mud flow.

The illfated well is operated by Indonesia's Lapindo Brantas, a unit of PT Energi Mega Persada, partly owned by the Bakrie Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister, Aburizal Bakrie.

The firm has denied the mud flow is directly linked to the drilling operation.

Energi has unveiled a deal to sell units that control Lapindo but the market watchdog has said a ban on the move still applies.