ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – Residents of the once-peaceful East Java town of Sidoarjo are becoming increasingly agitated about the ongoing flow of hot mud from a gas drilling well.

On Friday, some 200 workers from a nearby factory whose operation has been affected by the mudflow staged a protest outside the office of PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company that owns the well. They demanded compensation for lost wages.

Arriving on three trucks and dozens of motorcycles, the workers from snack producer CV. Inti Sari Pratama waved banners and posters with their demands all the way to Lapindo's office.

One of the workers, Mustafa Aji, said they were forced to protest because their future is uncertain. "Since the factory was closed two weeks ago, we haven't been getting paid. This is all because of Lapindo," he told The Jakarta Post.

The mudflow has affected at least 13 factories since it began late last month. It has also flooded hectares of paddy fields and inundated villagers' houses.

Mustafa said each worker usually receives Rp 20,000 (US$2) a day. "Who is going to pay us compensation? Our company is not willing to pay because the factory is closed," he said.

Lapindo's representatives, accompanied by officials from the Oil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas), met with 10 representatives of the protesting workers. They told the workers they would discuss the compensation with the factory's management. "They promised to resolve the matter next week," said Muhamad Hadi, one of the workers' representatives.

Lapindo's spokesman, Budi Santoso, said the company would try to find a mutually beneficial solution.

"We (Lapindo) also feel sorry for the workers. I'm just asking the workers to help deal with the mudflow problem. Many workers working on the mudflow feel afraid, threatened," said Budi, without elaborating.

The mudflow has also triggered a clash between residents from Balung Kenongo and Kedung Bendo villages. Residents from one village damaged a dam to block the mudflow, but the move caused the mud to stream into the other village. No casualties were reported in the incident. Police are now guarding the two villages.

Almost three weeks after the hot mudflow was first spotted, no detailed plan to resolve the problem has been announced.

"We can't predict the mud rushing out... all we can do is prevent it from spreading," Lapindo's safety, health and environment official, Agus Tanzil, told the Post Friday.

"No matter what experts say, the mudflow is happening because of a natural process and can't be mathematically predicted." The company has constructed three ponds to accommodate around 480,000 cubic meters of mudflow. With an estimated 20,000 cubic meters of mud streaming out per day, the ponds would fill up in 24 days. The company has also transported mud to be dumped at a location approved by the local administration.

"Our target is to solve the mudflow problem in a month. We hope everyone will stay calm and not make any conflicting statements that can confuse people," Lapindo's general manager Imam Agustino said.

In Jakarta, the National Police spokesman, Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam, said Friday that mining and geological experts from Australia and Canada will assist Indonesian authorities in investigating the cause of the hot mud eruption.

He said the police assigned a special task force to Sidoarjo on Thursday to investigate the case.