Amir Tejo, Sidoarjo, East Java – A new application for a gas drilling project by the company widely blamed for triggering a mud volcano that devastated the region must be accepted first by residents, a district official said.

Maksum, head of Sidoarjo's energy and mineral resources office, said oil and gas exploration firm Lapindo Brantas had already applied to district head Saiful Illah for a permit to drill in Kalidawir village in Tanggulangin subdistrict. "We didn't turn them down, but we advised them to inform the residents first," he said.

Maksum said it was important the company secure the villagers' consent before resuming operations in the region because of the prevailing mistrust toward drilling operations in the wake of the May 2006 disaster.

In that incident, a blowout of one of Lapindo's natural gas wells brought a torrent of hot mud and gas bubbling up to the surface.

The mud volcano would go on to become the world's biggest, swamping 12 villages in Porong subdistrict in more than 15 meters of mud. It is expected to continue gushing until at least 2037.

Lapindo and the government blamed the disaster on an earthquake that struck days before in Yogyakarta, around 280 kilometers away.

However, foreign experts accuse the company of failing to place a protective casing around a section of its well. As a result, the well was exposed to a "kick" from pressurized water and gas beneath the layer of mud, thus driving the gray, concrete-like sludge to the surface.

Maksum said that to help the company gain acceptance for its new plan, the Sidoarjo administration would organize a series of regular meetings between Lapindo and community stakeholders.

"We've already had two meetings hosted by the district head," he said. "Perhaps the next one can be at the office for energy and mineral resources."

Maksum said Saiful had refused to approve the permit until the company had consulted with the villagers at Kalidawir.

He said Lapindo already had permits to drill in two locations in the village, but wanted to begin drilling at a third site and extend the depths of its existing wells.

"In the presentation they gave when applying for the new permit, they assured us that the proposed new well would be safe because it would only extend 3,500 meters deep," he said. "The one that blew out in 2006 was 9,000 meters deep."

However, residents of Kalidawir said they were not swayed by Lapindo's assurances and remained skeptical of drilling projects in general.

Sholeh, head of the village's development council, said that ever since the 2006 disaster, residents in the area were wary of drilling operations of any kind. "We completely reject any plan to drill a new gas well in the area," he said.

Sholeh said that even if there was no risk that the new well would trigger another mud volcano, the people were still reluctant to consent to it. He said since it began operating in the district in 2002, Lapindo had not brought any significant benefits to residents.

"At the very beginning they promised to launch a community development program, but they've never made good on that promise," he said. "Nothing they've ever promised us has come to pass."

Sholeh said among the company's broken promises were pledges to erect a fence around the village cemetery, build irrigation canals for local farmers and employ local residents in its operations.

"But it was all just promises," he said. "And since they triggered the disaster in Porong, they've been using the excuse that they have no money to build what they promised because they've had to pay compensation to affected residents.

"We actually allowed them to start drilling here back then on the strength of those empty promises."