As I'm a bit swamped at the moment, if anyone can add anything, we'd be well pleased. After all, as he says, this news has yet to hit the mainstream.
Just some thoughts on the mud flow you might want to chase up.
*Haliburton is now the main driving force behind efforts to sort out the problem. Yet no mention has been made of them in the Jkt post etc. Now why is that? Figures range up to around $600 million to get it sorted. Haliburton have promised SBY they will have it capped and the mud pumped back into the ground within 3 months.
Presumably this has been arranged by VP Kalla on his trip to the States. I don't like or trust the guy, but you do have to admit that he's an achiever.
*SBY meanwhile has carpeted Bakrie and told him if it is not fixed soon, he and his empire will go down the tubes, courtesy of a presidential decree divesting Bakrie of everything. He is a very worried president given that the one railway line services a huge number of companies and factories, not to mention the gas pipeline that runs alongside and if that goes will cause power stations to start implementing brownouts across Java and Bali.
*Bakrie is in a world of pain, funds are drying up, banks are shying away from him, and it is estimated he will have to come up with $800 million to take care of Haliburton and the relocated villagers.
And Bakrie rejigging his shareholdings to save his empire isn't going to do much for his future credibility, is it? It's also been reported that Lapindo has to find 3,000 jobs for those who've lost theirs.
*BTW, the mud gusher occurred cos the fellas drilling were using a low pressure rig to drill a high pressure well, without safety precautions. The drilling supervisor was away (a good question to ask is where?!) when it happened.
If this is true, then the notion of this being a 'natural' disaster is a non-starter. Surely such a lackadaisical approach to a major industrial enterprise would beggar belief if it took place elsewhere. Why, here, does our cynicism seem natural, even justified?
Yosef Ardi reported last Wednesday :
A cabinet meeting tonight will make decision on whether to dump the mud to the sea, open new business opportunity like mud therapy spas (at a price e.g. the Ayuverda's Lepana herbalized mud treatment could cost US$150/hour) or make it a national park like Yellowstone.
All we've heard so far is that it's now an official disaster area. And the pumps are in place but the treatment plant isn't.
Please add comments or email me if you can add anything to the above. As Unspun has said, "The important thing is that we try to force these guys to be more honest and transparent at the end of the day."
Amen to that, bro'.
