1. SIDARJO/LAPINDO MUD FLOW
FROM A WELL
IN EAST JAVA, INDONESIA
(LUSI Mud Volcano)
By : Yulini Arediningsih
January 7, 2011
University of Calgary

2. Outline
 Objectives and Purposes
 LUSI (Lumpur Sidoarjo)
 Issues on Professionalism and Ethics
 Regulations and Guidelines
 Conclusions and Recommendations
 References

3. Objectives and Purposes
 To overview the chronology of the disaster
 To outline hypotheses of its possible causes
and its controversy
 To discuss on some issues related to the
disaster
 To outline some regulations and guidelines have
been set

4. Facts on Lumpur Sidoarjo
 It is named as a mud volcano called LUSI
 Located in the subdistrict of Porong, Sidoarjo in East Java,
Indonesia.
 It has been on going since its birth on May 29, 2006
The biggest mud volcano in the world was created by the blowout
of a natural gas well drilled by Lapindo Brantas
 Approximately 30,000 m³ (1 million cubic feet) of mud are expelled
per day, and it is expected that the flow will continue for the next 30
years
 Although the Sidoarjo mud flow has been contained by levees
since November 2008, resultant flooding regularly disrupts local
highways and villages.

5. Location
Geology Map
Central – East Java
(Sawolo et al., 2009)
(taken from www.maps.google.co.id)

6. Chronology
On May 6, 2006
PT Lapindo Brantas started drilling BP-1 well.
On May 28, 2006
PT Lapindo Brantas targeted gas in the Kujung Formation carbonates in
the Brantas PSC area by drilling BP-1 well.
1st stage : penetrated a thick clay seam (500–1,300 m deep), then sands,
shales, volcanic debris and finally into permeable carbonate rocks.
On May 29, 2006
2nd stage : the drill string went deeper, to about 2,834 m (9,298 ft) to target
the carbonate after which water, steam and a small amount of gas erupted
at a location about 200 m southwest of the well
On June 2, 3 2006
Two further eruptions occurred about 800–1000 m northwest of the well.

7. Chronology
On May 27, 2006
A magnitude of 6.3 earthquake occurred in Yogyakarta approximately 250
kilo-meters South West from Sidoarjo.
Seven minutes after the earthquake a mud loss problem in the well was
noted. After two major aftershocks, the well suffered a complete loss of
circulation.
This mud loss problem was finally stopped when a loss circulation material
was pumped in the well, a standard practice in drilling an oil and gas well. A
day later the well suffered a ‘kick’, an influx of formation fluid into the well
bore.
The kick appears to have been killed within three hours. The next day, 29
May 2006, steam, water and mud began erupting 200 meters away from
the well, a phenomena that is now known as Lusi mud volcano.
[edit]

8. (Sawolo et al, 2009) Image taken 8 hours after eruption 6/29/2006

9. Geology Settings

Logging at 8500’,
Prupuk formation
not yet penetrated,
mud cond. 300psi
Kick tolerant,
drilled deeper
(Sawolo,et al, 2009)

10. The Hyphotheses of the possible causes
 Hydro-fracturing of the formation
 a drilling related problem
 Fault reactivation
 a seismic related natural event
(Merapi eruption on May 26, 2006)
 Geothermal process
 associated with adjacent volcano complex
of the Arjuno-Welirang complex

11. Approximate Scale
: 10-15m

12. Impact of the disaster
Mud has flooded total area of 377,715 Ha (3777 km2)
Fourteen people have been killed
30,000 people have been evacuated from the area.
At least a dozen villages, with more than 10,000
homes have been destroyed
 Schools, offices and factories have also been wiped
out and a major impact on the wider marine and
coastal environment is expected.


13. An aerial view of the gas emission from the crater of LUSI mud volcano in Porong,
East Java province May 29, 2008 (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)
Http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/sidoarjos_manmade_mud_volcano.html

14. Ikonos Satellite image of the LUSI and surrounding area, May 29, 2008
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/sidoarjos_manmade_mud_volcano.html

15. Http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/sidoarjos_manmade_mud_volcano.html

16. Issues on Professionalism and Ethics
 Controversy of what triggered the mud eruption :
earthquake vs drilling activities:
– Medco Energy (joint ventures) asserts gross
negligence on the part of the Operator (Lapindo
Brantas) for failing to set casing of 9 5/8” at 8,500ft
– Operator, Lapindo Brantas, indicates that a seismic
event triggered the incident- On 27 May, an
earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale
occurred near Yogyakarta, 300km SW of Sidoarjo

17. Issues on Professionalism and Ethics
 Violation to public safety
 Negligence to procedures on deep drilling
in high risk zone of high pressure
formation
 Negligence to public hearing from local
government prior to drilling activities
 Negligence to obtain expert advise in
relation to active volcanic zone
surrounding area.

18. Regulations and Guidelines
June 14, 2006 - Implementation on GOVERNMENT’s POLICIES FOR LAPINDO
HOT MUD VICTIMS
June 15, 2006 Department of Energy and Natural Resources formed an Formation
of INDEPENDENT TEAM to investigate the cause of the Mud volcano
June 27, 2006 Sidoarjo Subdisctrict Government formed an Integrated Mitigation
Team of Mudflow Explosions in Subdistrict Porong, Sidorajo
district.
August 14, 2006 Public Works Minister formed a MUD FLOW MITIGATION TEAM
to handle the impact of the mud flow in Sidoarjo to evaluate and give resolutions and
recommendations to the mud flow problem
September 8, 2006 NATIONAL TEAM IN CHARGE IN HANDLING THE MUD
VOLCANO DISASTER IN SIDOARDJO
(based on Presidential Decree No. 13 Year 2006).

19. Conclusions – Lessons learned
• The Government declared that the eruption of the
mud volcano is a natural disaster
•The hypotheses on the possible causes of Lusi are
still debated by the earth scientists
• Use cultural and social consideration for reviewing
projects
• Environmental consideration for mining in dense
areas has to be controlled better
• It provides a unique opportunity for the scientific
community to conduct scientific experiments to further
understanding on mud volcano.

20. Recommendations
 Revisit drilling regulations on the East Java block to set
maximum drilling depth
 Hazard Analysis considering environmental concerns
should be conducted prior to drilling plan
 The Authorities and the Government must stand in the
front without finger pointing who’s right, who’s wrong and
who’s responsible
• As incident is a disaster so that the interest of the
victims/affected communities should be prioritized

21. Recommendations
Utilization of the mud for construction materials which
may provide job opportunity
 A correct understanding on the phenomenon is a must
and an important first step prior to attempting any relief
effort.
 Propose the mud volcano complex as national park
 Monitor the activity of the mud volcano and propose
mitigation plan

22. References
Davies, R. J., Swarbrick, R. E., Evans, R. J. and M. Huuse, M. 2007. "Birth of a mud
volcano: East Java, May 29, 2006". GSA Today 17 (2): 4.
Matthews, S. J. and Bransden, P. J. E., 1995. "Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic
tectono-stratigraphic development of the East Java Sea Basin, Indonesia". Marine
and Petroleum Geology 12 (5): 499–510
Sawolo, N., Sutriono, E., Istadi, B., Darmoyo, A.B. 2009. "The LUSI mud volcano
triggering controversy: was it caused by drilling?". Marine & Petroleum Geology 26:
1766–1784
http://www.mudvolcano.com/home.php# (01/06/2011)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidoarjo_mud_flow (01/06/2011)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070125-mud-volcano.html
(01/06/2011)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/22/2604203.htm?section=justin
(01/06/2011)
http://www.socsci.flinders.edu.au/asiacentre/forums/conferencepresentations/Kresn
ayanaYayha.pdf (01/06/2011)