NATIONAL VITAL OBJECT SECURITY

Oil and Gas Asset Security Synergy

Bisnis, JAKARTA — National Vital
Objects (Obvitnas) which concern the
livelihoods of many people such as oil
depots or gas pipelines, of course,
must receive special attention,
especially from external and internal
risks that can cause an explosion or
fire. The fire incident in the pipeline at
the Plumpang Fuel Oil Terminal in
North Jakarta which resulted in
casualties can certainly be a lesson,
how the government, especially asset
owners, need to be vigilant regarding
Obvitnas security. What's more,
incidents like this have happened
several times, not only in Plumpang,
but also in Balongan, Cilacap and
Balikpapan. Without continuous
disaster mitigation efforts, serious
impacts will not only be felt by the
people around Obvitnas, but also have
an impact on the national economy.
For this reason, it is necessary to take
steps to anticipate and strengthen
understanding of cross-stakeholder
disaster risk. Institute for Essential
Services Reform (IESR) Executive
Director Fabby Tumiwa said that in the
Obvitnas facility, of course every
BUMN or state institution that has a
vital object has SOPs related to its
operations and management,
including internal security. "However,
with the occurrence of events in
several Obvitnas, especially those
related to oil and gas, it seems that
procedures, compliance and
supervision need to be reviewed. The
audit of internal assets is the first step,
after that for each of these vital assets
all risks are mapped and a risk
mitigation plan is prepared, as well as
its implementation," he told Bisnis,
Tuesday (21/3). Apart from that, said
Fabby, there was Presidential Decree
No. 63/2004 concerning Obvitnas
Security which might need to be
reviewed and supplemented with
provisions regarding the establishment
of safe zones or buffer areas and
coordination between government
agencies/agencies and regional
governments to support this.
Synergy between stakeholders and
policies related to Obvitnas security
is of course very much needed.
This is related to the consideration
that Obvitnas has an important role
for the life of the nation and state in
terms of economic, political, socio-
cultural, defense and security
aspects. What's more, there is a
fact that must be faced that several
Obvitnas are close to settlements
and it's not uncommon for their land
to be occupied illegally and left just
like that. For this reason, securing
Obvitnas, especially in the oil and
gas sector, is the responsibility and
commitment of all stakeholders.
The emphasis of this commitment
is how to implement their
respective roles and functions,
especially with regard to securing
vital objects. For example, the TNI
with Law No. 34 of 2004, the
National Police with Law No. 2 of
2002 or the Regional Government
with Law No. 23 of 2015
concerning Regional Governments.
Member of DPR Commission VII
Mulyanto assessed that oil and gas
SOEs such as Pertamina must
increase security for assets and
carry out strict and measurable risk
management.
For this reason, Pertamina was
asked to improve the institutions
that handle asset management. "Of
course this security is not just
security in the sense of "security" or
"safeguard", but the main thing is
"safety", the safety of residents,
installations and workers.
Institutions that oversee HSSE
must be strengthened and
synergized with other institutions or
agencies such as the National
Police, TNI, BNPB and others," he
explained. General Chairperson of
the Association of Indonesian
Policy Analysts (AAKI) Trubus
Rahardiansyah said in securing
Obvitnas, don't just use a security
approach but also a humanist
approach to the surrounding
community as well as outreach
about the vulnerabilities and the
importance of these facilities to be
guarded together. "Obvitnas,
especially those related to oil and
gas, are directly related to public
interests as well as national
economic interests, so the policy
approach must prioritize
sustainability or long-term
sustainability, not just a matter of
short-term efficiency and
effectiveness," he explained.