PRESS RELEASE
March 07, 2022
Following reports of an alleged H2S gas leak in the Sorik Marapi Power Project we would like to confirm that no H2S gas leak occurred during our testing and state the following:
On March 6th 2022, a violent protest of villagers from Sibanggor Julu took place due to wrongful allegations of H2S gas leak during the well testing of AAE-05 in the Sorik Marapi Geothermal Project.
Following SMGP’s standard operational procedures, designed to ensure the health and safety of the community and our workers on sire, SMGP socialized with the local communities starting from March 5. The socialization entailed verbal discussions with the surrounding communities and distribution of pamphlets while using loudspeakers to announce the intentions to conduct the well testing to create awareness and ensure everyone in the area would be aware of the scheduled testing. After completing the socialization SMGP evacuated all personnel and patrolled a 300-meter radius and simultaneously monitored the perimeter with a drone to ensure the health and safety of everyone.
During the well testing SMGP monitored where the wind was blowing and, through multi-gas detectors, the level of gas coming from the well. The gas that flowed from the wells was mainly undetectable at 0 ppm and always within the permissible exposure limit as per international standards while going through an abatement system (a system that contains 100 liters of NaOH mixture which is a H2S dissolution technology) to mitigate any H2S gas exposure. The results from the gas detectors were consistent with the previous testing of AAE-02 and AAE-03 that SMGP tested successfully on the same well pad.
According to the wind sock on Pad AAE, when the test was being conducted the wind was blowing to the east and northeast, as seen on our website www.ksorka.com (with video showing that the wind vane is blowing). Whereas Sibanggor Julu Village is located at 26 meters elevation and 397 meters distance south of SMGP well testing activities. During the testing none of SMGP’s many gas alarms went off.
Based on the safety and monitoring measures taken, the geographical location of Sibanggor Julu Village and the fact that H2S gas is heavier than air there are no indications or evidence that support any claim of exposure to H2S gas AAE-05, as has been reported.
SMGP, as always, is committed to providing support to the community and will continue providing medical assistance for the local community while participating in the investigation with authorities of the actual cause of this incident.
SMGP have taken the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the residents and workers, as well as securing its operations and assets. Currently, the operation of the Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power Plant is running normally as advised by the Directorate General of EBTKE.
SMGP regrets the incident that took place at our project site endangering our staff and condemns any acts of violence towards its staff and anyone else.
Should you require more information please visit SMGP’s website www.ksorka.com that has more detailed information, documents and videos or contact us at corporate.communications@ksorka.com
