"Indonesian Energy Company Plans To Resume Drilling Near Mud Volcano"

"Indonesian energy company Lapindo Brantas plans to resume drilling for gas near the site of a mud volcano, its CEO said, referring to a disaster that some scientists say it helped to create around 10 years ago.

The Sidoarjo mud volcano, which started erupting in May 2006 near Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya, inundated 12 villages and has displaced around 60,000 people. It has now become a tourist attraction.

The company, a unit of Energi Mega Persada, has paid off the vast majority of compensation claims it was ordered to pay, helped by a 786 billion rupiah ($56.5 million) government loan last year."

Fergus Jensen reports for Reuters January 12, 2016.

Source: Reuters, 01/13/2016