On 28 May 2006, PT. Lapindo Brantas, owned by Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie, failed to follow standard procedure for drilling natural gas in Sidoarjo, East Java, since then Hot Mud has been flowing continuously.
According to Wikipedia, at its peak the Hot Mud spewed 180,000 m3 a day, at mid August 2011 the quantity decreased to 10,000 m3 from 100,000 m3 a year earlier, all of which has inundated large area of farmland, houses, factories, warehouses, roads.
It is predicted that the Hot Mud in Sidoarjo will keep on flowing for the next 25 to 30 years.
There were different (and conflicting) scientific explanations as to the cause of the Hot Mud Flow, some said that it was caused by an earthquake in Jogyakarta a day earlier, but the Indonesian government has seemingly considered this tragedy as a natural disaster and therefore helped the payment of compensation for the damages suffered by the people hit by the Hot Mud Flow.
I hope that there will be a thorough scientific research conducted by legitimate and credible international scientific organizations that would reveal the truth about the Lapindo Hot Mud tragedy.
This truth is very important, especially for the Golkar Party that has planned to nominate Aburizal Barkrie as a candidate in the 2014 Presidential Election.
Showing posts with label Lapindo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lapindo. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Lapindo Hot Mud Flow is Now 5 Years Old
On 28 May 2006, PT Lapindo Brantas targeted Gas in the Brantas area, East Java, by drilling a borehole well.
In the first stage of drilling the drill string first went through a thick clay seam, then sands, shales, volcanic debris and finally into permeable carbonate rocks. At this stage the borehole was surrounded by a Protective Steel Casing to help stabilise it.
One day later, a second stage of drilling began and the drill string went deeper to about 2,834 meter, this time without a Protective Steel Casing, after which water, steam and a small amount of Gas erupted at a location about 200 meter Southwest of the Well.
In spite of the above, PT Lapindo Brantas and some foreign geological experts said in various scientific meetings that the Hot Mud Flow was caused by an earthquake that hit Yogjakarta on 27 May 2006. However, the company agreed to pay compensation.
Today, the Mud Flow is slowing down five years after it swallowed 12 villages, 30 factories, dozens of shops and a busy highway near the country's second largest city of Surabaya. Twelve people have been killed, but many more lives have been wrecked. Some 40,000 people have been forced out of their homes by the inexorable ooze.
Many of the victims said they still have not been paid all of the compensation they were promised five years ago by PT Lapindo Brantas, a company part of the business empire controlled by the family of Golkar Party Chief Aburizal Bakrie.
For that reason, the people of Sidoarjo recently protested against the plan by PT Lapindo Brantas to drill new Gas well in the area.
Considering that until now we still do not know when will the Lapindo Hot Mud will stop flowing, I hope that the authorities would not allow new drilling operations in the area.
Sources :
- Sidoarjo mud flow (Wikipedia)
- Five years on, Indonesia's mud volcano still erupting (AsiaOne News)
- Warga Tolak Pengeboran Baru Lapindo (Media Indonesia)
In the first stage of drilling the drill string first went through a thick clay seam, then sands, shales, volcanic debris and finally into permeable carbonate rocks. At this stage the borehole was surrounded by a Protective Steel Casing to help stabilise it.
One day later, a second stage of drilling began and the drill string went deeper to about 2,834 meter, this time without a Protective Steel Casing, after which water, steam and a small amount of Gas erupted at a location about 200 meter Southwest of the Well.
In spite of the above, PT Lapindo Brantas and some foreign geological experts said in various scientific meetings that the Hot Mud Flow was caused by an earthquake that hit Yogjakarta on 27 May 2006. However, the company agreed to pay compensation.
Today, the Mud Flow is slowing down five years after it swallowed 12 villages, 30 factories, dozens of shops and a busy highway near the country's second largest city of Surabaya. Twelve people have been killed, but many more lives have been wrecked. Some 40,000 people have been forced out of their homes by the inexorable ooze.
Many of the victims said they still have not been paid all of the compensation they were promised five years ago by PT Lapindo Brantas, a company part of the business empire controlled by the family of Golkar Party Chief Aburizal Bakrie.
For that reason, the people of Sidoarjo recently protested against the plan by PT Lapindo Brantas to drill new Gas well in the area.
Considering that until now we still do not know when will the Lapindo Hot Mud will stop flowing, I hope that the authorities would not allow new drilling operations in the area.
Sources :
- Sidoarjo mud flow (Wikipedia)
- Five years on, Indonesia's mud volcano still erupting (AsiaOne News)
- Warga Tolak Pengeboran Baru Lapindo (Media Indonesia)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Lapindo Mudflow Tragedy
Four years ago, PT. Lapindo Brantas failed to follow standard procedure for pumping natural gas in Sidoarjo, East Java, causing a never ending hot mud flow that inundated many buildings and commercial lands in the neigbouring area.
Now, the tragedy has been regarded as a mere natural disaster and responsibility of PT. Lapindo Brantas and its owner have been transfered to the government.
According to Kompas (below) the government of East Java is planning to turn Mudflow site into a Tourist site, for which purpose the amount of 273 Billion Rupiah in fund has been allocated.
Now, the tragedy has been regarded as a mere natural disaster and responsibility of PT. Lapindo Brantas and its owner have been transfered to the government.
According to Kompas (below) the government of East Java is planning to turn Mudflow site into a Tourist site, for which purpose the amount of 273 Billion Rupiah in fund has been allocated.
Rp273 Billion for Lapindo Tourist Site Allocated
Sabtu, 29 Mei 2010 | 06:01 WIB
SURABAYA, KOMPAS.com - The government has set aside Rp273 billion in funds to develop a geological tourist object near the Lapindo mudflow site in Sidoarjo district, East Java, an official said.
"The government through the maritime affairs and fisheries ministry has set aside Rp273 billion in funds to develop Lapindo geological tourist site," East Java Governor Soekarwo said here on Friday.
The 83-hectare geological tourist object would be located north of the mudflow site, he said adding: "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the location some time ago."
"The DED (detailed engineering design) of the project will be available in 2011. The project is likely to be started this year," he said.
Asked to comment on the land subsidence around the mudflow site, he said there was nothing to worry about it.
"The land subsidence can be handled if new embankments are not built. The emergence of new mudflow spots and land subsidence results from the construction of new embankments which add to another burden," he said quoting geologists of the Surabaya-based Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) and Airlangga University (Unair).
To date, there were 180 thousand mudflow spots, including 30 thousand to 50 thousand new ones, he said. The mudflow first began from a crack near an exploratory gas well owned by PT Lapindo Brantas on May 29, 2006. It soon expanded into a mud lake, swallowing houses, factories and schools, leaving more than 15,000 people homeless.
"The government through the maritime affairs and fisheries ministry has set aside Rp273 billion in funds to develop Lapindo geological tourist site," East Java Governor Soekarwo said here on Friday.
The 83-hectare geological tourist object would be located north of the mudflow site, he said adding: "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the location some time ago."
"The DED (detailed engineering design) of the project will be available in 2011. The project is likely to be started this year," he said.
Asked to comment on the land subsidence around the mudflow site, he said there was nothing to worry about it.
"The land subsidence can be handled if new embankments are not built. The emergence of new mudflow spots and land subsidence results from the construction of new embankments which add to another burden," he said quoting geologists of the Surabaya-based Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) and Airlangga University (Unair).
To date, there were 180 thousand mudflow spots, including 30 thousand to 50 thousand new ones, he said. The mudflow first began from a crack near an exploratory gas well owned by PT Lapindo Brantas on May 29, 2006. It soon expanded into a mud lake, swallowing houses, factories and schools, leaving more than 15,000 people homeless.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Bank Century for Lapindo Deal
Sri Mulyani's decision to resign from her job as Minister of Finance have made certain people very happy.
For Sri Mulyani, it means that she'll be able to take a prestigious position as Managing Director of the World Bank, and get away from politicians at the Parliament (DPR) who have been blaming her for the mysterious 6,7 Trillion Rupiah Bank Century Bailout.
For President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) and his Democrat Party, it means that it will calm down the protests in DPR against the Bank Century case, therefore regaining supports from political parties that formed the coalition government.
For SBY's political ally i.e. the Golkar Party, it means that no one will bother the businesses of its Chairman i.e. Aburizal Bakrie, especially PT Lapindo that has been responsible for the disastrous never ending flow of Hot Mud at Sidoardjo, East Java.
Golkar was very happy that they supported the creation of a Joint Secretariat for the Coalition and Bakrie became its Chief Executive Officer only two days after Sri Mulyani's resignation.
Considering that the Coalition Government also includes two political parties i.e. PKS and PPP, that supported DPR's Inquiry on the Bank Century case, I hope that the above political deal would not stop the investigation of the Bank Century case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and the fact finding efforts on the Lapindo Mud Flow.
Related articles :
- The Jakarta Post : World Bank appoints Sri Mulyani managing director
- Kompas : Life in Indonesia after Sri Mulyani moves to WB
- The Jakarta Globe : Reshuffle Hands Bakrie Leading Coalition Post
For Sri Mulyani, it means that she'll be able to take a prestigious position as Managing Director of the World Bank, and get away from politicians at the Parliament (DPR) who have been blaming her for the mysterious 6,7 Trillion Rupiah Bank Century Bailout.
For President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) and his Democrat Party, it means that it will calm down the protests in DPR against the Bank Century case, therefore regaining supports from political parties that formed the coalition government.
For SBY's political ally i.e. the Golkar Party, it means that no one will bother the businesses of its Chairman i.e. Aburizal Bakrie, especially PT Lapindo that has been responsible for the disastrous never ending flow of Hot Mud at Sidoardjo, East Java.
Golkar was very happy that they supported the creation of a Joint Secretariat for the Coalition and Bakrie became its Chief Executive Officer only two days after Sri Mulyani's resignation.
Considering that the Coalition Government also includes two political parties i.e. PKS and PPP, that supported DPR's Inquiry on the Bank Century case, I hope that the above political deal would not stop the investigation of the Bank Century case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and the fact finding efforts on the Lapindo Mud Flow.
Related articles :
- The Jakarta Post : World Bank appoints Sri Mulyani managing director
- Kompas : Life in Indonesia after Sri Mulyani moves to WB
- The Jakarta Globe : Reshuffle Hands Bakrie Leading Coalition Post
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Lapindo Today
On 28 May 2006, the mining company PT. Lapindo Brantas failed to follow standard procedures for drilling natural gas which caused disaster i.e. never ending Hot Mud Flow in Sidoardjo, East Java.
By late 2009, the Mud Flow have swarmed a land area of around 10 square kilometers in Porong. More than 12,000 houses, dozens of factories and public facilities, and thousands of hectares of agriculture properties were buried in the mud.
However, Lapindo refused to be responsible for the losses, claiming that the disaster was a natural disaster caused by a 6.3 Richter Scale earthquake that struct Jogyakarta (300 KM away) wto dats before Lapindo drilled the gas in Sidoardjo.
And the fact that Lapindo's majority owner i.e. Aburizal Bakrie, was the Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare in President SBY' s 2004-2009, has enabled Lapindo to be in a safe position.
Today, almost four years after the disaster starts, Tempointeraktif reported that two officials of Lapindo, VP Relation Yuniwati Teriyana and Operational Manager Bambang Susatyo, have nominated themselves as candidates for the election of the Chief of the Regency of Sidoardjo next.
In spite of the above, I hope that there will be serious efforts to carry out an over all investigation on what really cause the Lapindo Mud Flow, after which perhaps a solution can be found to stop the Mud Flow and the sufferrings of people victimized by the disaster.
Photo: Courtesy of Wikipedia.
By late 2009, the Mud Flow have swarmed a land area of around 10 square kilometers in Porong. More than 12,000 houses, dozens of factories and public facilities, and thousands of hectares of agriculture properties were buried in the mud.
However, Lapindo refused to be responsible for the losses, claiming that the disaster was a natural disaster caused by a 6.3 Richter Scale earthquake that struct Jogyakarta (300 KM away) wto dats before Lapindo drilled the gas in Sidoardjo.
And the fact that Lapindo's majority owner i.e. Aburizal Bakrie, was the Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare in President SBY' s 2004-2009, has enabled Lapindo to be in a safe position.
Today, almost four years after the disaster starts, Tempointeraktif reported that two officials of Lapindo, VP Relation Yuniwati Teriyana and Operational Manager Bambang Susatyo, have nominated themselves as candidates for the election of the Chief of the Regency of Sidoardjo next.
In spite of the above, I hope that there will be serious efforts to carry out an over all investigation on what really cause the Lapindo Mud Flow, after which perhaps a solution can be found to stop the Mud Flow and the sufferrings of people victimized by the disaster.
Photo: Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Endless Lapindo Tragedy
Three years have passed since the Hot Mud flow began in Sidoarjo, East Java, flooding its surrounding farmlands, house/office/warehouse buildings, and displacing thousands of families.
According to Wikipedia, the Mud flow started on 29 May 2006, when PT. Lapindo Brantas drilled a borehole for Gas in the Brantas area. In the first stage, the Drill String first went through a thick clay seam (500-1,300 m deep), then sands, shells, volcanic debris and finally into permeable carbonate rocks. At this stage the borehole was surrounded by a Steel Casing to help stabilize it. Later, second stage of drilling began and the Drill String went deeper to about 2,834 m, this time without protective Steel Casing, causing eruption of water steam and a small amount of gas followed by other eruptions on June. Considering that borehole protection by steel casing is a common procedure in oil or gas exploration, therefore the most likely cause of the Mud Flow is PT Lapindo’s failure to use the Steel Casing in the second stage of their drilling operation.
However, there is controversy on what has caused the eruption and whether or not it was a natural disaster. PT Lapindo Brantas said the Mud Flow eruption was not triggered by their drilling activities, but by an Earthquake with a 6.3 Richter scale Earthquake that hit Central Java & Yogyakarta two days before the mud eruption killing 6,234 people.
After investigations by independent experts, police have concluded the mud flow was an "underground blow out", triggered by the drilling activity. It is also noted that the Steel Casing lining had not been used which could have prevented the disaster.
The government announced that PT Lapindo Brantas must compensate thousands of victims affected by the mud flows. A criminal investigation was then started against several senior executives of the company because the drilling operation has put the lives of local people at risk. But unfortunately, the compensation has still not been fully given, and result of legal actions seems to be fruitless.
The most interesting thing is that although the Lapindo Mud Flow has been going on for so long and victimized so many people without any clear solution, however it has not seemed to attract political parties competing in the Parliamentary Elections last April. Even the Ulama in East Java prefer to discuss about other things like Facebook, than about the Lapindo Mud Flow.
According to Wikipedia, the Mud flow started on 29 May 2006, when PT. Lapindo Brantas drilled a borehole for Gas in the Brantas area. In the first stage, the Drill String first went through a thick clay seam (500-1,300 m deep), then sands, shells, volcanic debris and finally into permeable carbonate rocks. At this stage the borehole was surrounded by a Steel Casing to help stabilize it. Later, second stage of drilling began and the Drill String went deeper to about 2,834 m, this time without protective Steel Casing, causing eruption of water steam and a small amount of gas followed by other eruptions on June. Considering that borehole protection by steel casing is a common procedure in oil or gas exploration, therefore the most likely cause of the Mud Flow is PT Lapindo’s failure to use the Steel Casing in the second stage of their drilling operation.
However, there is controversy on what has caused the eruption and whether or not it was a natural disaster. PT Lapindo Brantas said the Mud Flow eruption was not triggered by their drilling activities, but by an Earthquake with a 6.3 Richter scale Earthquake that hit Central Java & Yogyakarta two days before the mud eruption killing 6,234 people.
After investigations by independent experts, police have concluded the mud flow was an "underground blow out", triggered by the drilling activity. It is also noted that the Steel Casing lining had not been used which could have prevented the disaster.
The government announced that PT Lapindo Brantas must compensate thousands of victims affected by the mud flows. A criminal investigation was then started against several senior executives of the company because the drilling operation has put the lives of local people at risk. But unfortunately, the compensation has still not been fully given, and result of legal actions seems to be fruitless.
The most interesting thing is that although the Lapindo Mud Flow has been going on for so long and victimized so many people without any clear solution, however it has not seemed to attract political parties competing in the Parliamentary Elections last April. Even the Ulama in East Java prefer to discuss about other things like Facebook, than about the Lapindo Mud Flow.
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