…The Porong subdistrict…consists of three oil and gas fields…As of 2006, three companies — Santos MedcoEnergi and Lapindo Brantas— had concession rights for this area. Lapindo Brantas…part of the Bakrie Group…Lapindo was drilling for gas in the…area...In May 2006, the volcano Lumpur Sidoardjo…unleashed more than 1 million cubic meters of liquid mud…killing almost 100 people…The river of mud destroyed…livelihoods, permanently displacing at least 11,000 people...According to Dr. Eddy Soedjono and Dr. Agnes Tuti, researchers at…Surabaya University, the company could have averted the disaster by protecting the drilling hole with a steel casing…Bakrie Group initially accepted some responsibility…Lapindo agreed to pay US$106 million…Lapindo also stated that it was only partially responsible for the disaster and…Santos and Medco Energi should share the burden…Four years down the line…the problems remain unsolved…volcano victims are growing and most are still waiting for compensation…