Aburizal Bakrie
Encyclopedia
In this Indonesian name, the name "Bakrie" is a family name, and the person should be referred to by the family name "Bakrie".
Aburizal Bakrie (born 15 November 1946) is an Indonesia
n entrepreneur
and politician
.
on November 15, 1946. He attended the Bandung Institute of Technology
where he obtained a degree in electrical engineering in 1973. In 1972 he joined PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk - the conglomerate founded by his father Ahmad Bakri - which had prospered during the Soeharto regime. The Bakrie Group conducts business in agriculture, real estate, trade, shipping, banking, insurance, media, manufacturing, construction, and mining. Aburizal Bakrie, the eldest of four siblings, was the chairman of the family enterprise from 1999 to 2004. The Bakrie conglomerate went into deep debt after the 1998 Asian economic crisis and survived only after a refinancing process in 2000. The refinancing allowed the Bakrie family to maintain control over the conglomerate.
After a reshuffling of the cabinet in 2005, he became the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.
Previous positions included the presidency of the ASEAN Business Forum for two consecutive terms from 1991 to 1995, and the chairmanship of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for two consecutive terms from 1994 to 2004. As a member of the Golkar
party Bakrie competed unsuccessfully to become Golkar's candidate for the presidency in 2004; eventually General Wiranto
became the party's candidate.
He was elected as the chairman of Golkar
party at 2009 Golkar Party Congress at Pekanbaru
, Riau, Indonesia
after defeating Surya Paloh
, Yuddy Chrisnandi and Hutomo Mandala Putra. In May 2010, he successfully formed and was elected the leader of a majority parliamentary coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party.
shook Java island. This was one of the most destructive earthquake to hit the island in modern times, leaving over 6,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless.
Two days after the earthquake a number of volcanoes reactivated, including Indonesia's infamous Semeru
volcano, 300 km away. At the same time a mud volcano in the city of Sidoarjo erupted, 250 km from the epicentre.
This mud volcano had a direct impact on 40,000 residents, spewing out up to 180,000 cubic metres of hot mud each day. It was revealed that an exploration company had been drilling for gas reserves in a deep sedimentary reserve nearby and may have triggered the mud eruption.
The exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas
would become the focus of global media reporting. The majority owners were the Bakrie family, agreed to meet the financial needs of the affected population. The family is listed as Indonesia's wealthiest (Forbes US$9 billion in 2007) and is considered secretive and media shy. While offering financial support, they also argued the mud eruption was a natural event.
Lapindo Brantas Inc. was formed in 1996 with the purchase of American owned Huffington Corporation's interest in the 15,000 km2 Brantas Block in East Java. The Brantas PSC (Production Sharing Contract) drilled eight exploratory wells from 1993 through to 2001, which led to the discovery of the Wunut gas field, 30 km south of Surabaya. The current area of the PSC is 3,050 km2. The Wunut field is commercial and went into production in January 1999. At the time a large number of promising shallow and deep oil/gas prospects were identified including Banjar Panji-1.
The drilling exploration began March 2006. Apart from some minor equipment breakdowns no unusual events occurred. The actual borehole was easier to drill than expected, and therefore did not require additional steel casings. The shareholders meeting on 18 May 2006 discussed the test bores. Minutes of this meeting clearly indicated that all three partners agreed to a case setting at 3580 ft
Eleven days after this meeting on 27 May the earthquake hit Jogjakarta.
The following account is from Lapindo Brantas operations, rig staff and site manager, drilling and exploration managers:
"The drilling rig and porta buildings on the site suddenly started shaking violently we heard soon after that a large earthquake had been recorded. 7–10 minutes after the earthquake the well experienced a loss of mud – a loss of approximately 20 bbls of drilling mud. This was controlled to standard industry practices. Over the next 5 hours two large aftershocks were felt and a major loss circulation occurred. This loss was approximately 130 bbls of drilling mud. The emergency drilling team managed the loss by pumping a loss circulating material that plugged the loss. The well no longer suffered any losses, and was static for the next 7 hours. It appeared that the loss had something to do with the tectonic activity from the earthquake. Then shocking news reached us, the earthquake had killed more than 4,000, with the death toll rising by the hour. We decided to halt further drilling due to the seismic activity from the earthquake and begun to extract the drilling bit from the well. The driller started to pull the drill string out of the hole by employing the normal method to avoid swabbing the well in. When the bit was halfway out, the well took a water kick that displaces some drilling mud out. The Blow Out Preventer (BOP) was shut in as per standard method. This kick was later killed using a standard method successfully. The well was now dead with no more pressure in the well, the BOP was open and the well was in a safe condition. We were started to continue to pull the drill string out, but found that it was differentially stuck. A preparation to fish the stuck pipe was underway when at 5am May 29 our team were alerted to a broach 150–200 meters from our drilling site. Naturally we were concerned of the situation, the broach wasn’t on our land, but we had access to experts that could advise on possible causes and importantly potential ways to halt the broach. Under normal PSC and operating requirements we reported the broach to BP MIGAS and our joint venture partners. An investigation was launched into the source of the mud and ways to stop it."
It was subsequently discovered that the broach (a mud eruption) 150–200 metres away from the drilling site was not the only location and that mud was erupting from five other locations up to a kilometre from the drilling site. Within a week of the mud eruption an article in the Jakarta Post newspaper NGO (Walhi) and JV partner (Medco) were fingering blame on Lapindo Brantas for triggering the mud eruption. It seems a letter was leaked to the Jakarta Post from Medco pointing out that they had earlier reminded Lapindo Brantas to install a steel casing to 8,500 feet, meaning that the entire well could be sealed in the event of problems. This accusation quickly became the catalyst for the widespread belief that negligent drilling was the cause of the mud eruption From this point onwards the mud spill was deemed a man-made disaster, not linked to the volcanic eruption.
Aburizal Bakrie (born 15 November 1946) is an Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Family business
Bakrie was born in JakartaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
on November 15, 1946. He attended the Bandung Institute of Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
The Bandung Institute of Technology or Institute of Technology, Bandung is a state, coeducational research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. Established in 1920, ITB is the oldest technology-oriented university in Indonesia....
where he obtained a degree in electrical engineering in 1973. In 1972 he joined PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk - the conglomerate founded by his father Ahmad Bakri - which had prospered during the Soeharto regime. The Bakrie Group conducts business in agriculture, real estate, trade, shipping, banking, insurance, media, manufacturing, construction, and mining. Aburizal Bakrie, the eldest of four siblings, was the chairman of the family enterprise from 1999 to 2004. The Bakrie conglomerate went into deep debt after the 1998 Asian economic crisis and survived only after a refinancing process in 2000. The refinancing allowed the Bakrie family to maintain control over the conglomerate.
Public offices
In 2004 Bakrie resigned his positions within the Bakrie companies prior to being named Chief Economic Minister of Indonesia. This appointment by a president who planned to fight corruption was viewed with some reservation. Subsequently Aburizal Bakrie has been blamed for poor economic development and business nepotism.After a reshuffling of the cabinet in 2005, he became the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.
Previous positions included the presidency of the ASEAN Business Forum for two consecutive terms from 1991 to 1995, and the chairmanship of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for two consecutive terms from 1994 to 2004. As a member of the Golkar
Golkar
The Party of the Functional Groups is a political party in Indonesia. It is also known as Sekber Golkar . It was the ruling party during Suharto's regime...
party Bakrie competed unsuccessfully to become Golkar's candidate for the presidency in 2004; eventually General Wiranto
Wiranto
Wiranto is a retired Indonesian army General. He was Commander of the military of Indonesia from February 1998 to October 1999, and ran unsuccessfully for President of Indonesia in 2004 and the vice-presidency in 2009....
became the party's candidate.
He was elected as the chairman of Golkar
Golkar
The Party of the Functional Groups is a political party in Indonesia. It is also known as Sekber Golkar . It was the ruling party during Suharto's regime...
party at 2009 Golkar Party Congress at Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau, a province in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. It has an area of 632.26 km² and a population of 903,902. Located on the Siak River, which drains to the Strait of Malacca...
, Riau, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after defeating Surya Paloh
Surya Paloh
Surya Dharma Paloh is an Indonesian media tycoon who owns the Media Indonesia daily newspaper and Metro TV, a 24-hour news television network. Surya Paloh is active in politics and he is the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Golkar Party, the biggest political party in Indonesia...
, Yuddy Chrisnandi and Hutomo Mandala Putra. In May 2010, he successfully formed and was elected the leader of a majority parliamentary coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party.
Sidoarjo mud flow
On 27 May 2006 an earthquakeMay 2006 Java earthquake
The May 2006 Java earthquake occurred at 05:54 local time on 27 May 2006 , in the Indian Ocean around south-southwest of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, near Galur, on the southern side of the island of Java , 10 km below the seabed, with a magnitude of 6.2, according to the U.S....
shook Java island. This was one of the most destructive earthquake to hit the island in modern times, leaving over 6,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless.
Two days after the earthquake a number of volcanoes reactivated, including Indonesia's infamous Semeru
Semeru
Semeru, or Mount Semeru , is a volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java...
volcano, 300 km away. At the same time a mud volcano in the city of Sidoarjo erupted, 250 km from the epicentre.
This mud volcano had a direct impact on 40,000 residents, spewing out up to 180,000 cubic metres of hot mud each day. It was revealed that an exploration company had been drilling for gas reserves in a deep sedimentary reserve nearby and may have triggered the mud eruption.
The exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas
PT Lapindo Brantas
PT Lapindo Brantas is an Indonesian oil and gas exploration company.It is a subsidiary owned by PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk and 60% owned and controlled by the Bakrie Group. The Bakrie Group is owned by the former Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie and his brothers...
would become the focus of global media reporting. The majority owners were the Bakrie family, agreed to meet the financial needs of the affected population. The family is listed as Indonesia's wealthiest (Forbes US$9 billion in 2007) and is considered secretive and media shy. While offering financial support, they also argued the mud eruption was a natural event.
Lapindo Brantas Inc. was formed in 1996 with the purchase of American owned Huffington Corporation's interest in the 15,000 km2 Brantas Block in East Java. The Brantas PSC (Production Sharing Contract) drilled eight exploratory wells from 1993 through to 2001, which led to the discovery of the Wunut gas field, 30 km south of Surabaya. The current area of the PSC is 3,050 km2. The Wunut field is commercial and went into production in January 1999. At the time a large number of promising shallow and deep oil/gas prospects were identified including Banjar Panji-1.
The drilling exploration began March 2006. Apart from some minor equipment breakdowns no unusual events occurred. The actual borehole was easier to drill than expected, and therefore did not require additional steel casings. The shareholders meeting on 18 May 2006 discussed the test bores. Minutes of this meeting clearly indicated that all three partners agreed to a case setting at 3580 ft
Eleven days after this meeting on 27 May the earthquake hit Jogjakarta.
The following account is from Lapindo Brantas operations, rig staff and site manager, drilling and exploration managers:
"The drilling rig and porta buildings on the site suddenly started shaking violently we heard soon after that a large earthquake had been recorded. 7–10 minutes after the earthquake the well experienced a loss of mud – a loss of approximately 20 bbls of drilling mud. This was controlled to standard industry practices. Over the next 5 hours two large aftershocks were felt and a major loss circulation occurred. This loss was approximately 130 bbls of drilling mud. The emergency drilling team managed the loss by pumping a loss circulating material that plugged the loss. The well no longer suffered any losses, and was static for the next 7 hours. It appeared that the loss had something to do with the tectonic activity from the earthquake. Then shocking news reached us, the earthquake had killed more than 4,000, with the death toll rising by the hour. We decided to halt further drilling due to the seismic activity from the earthquake and begun to extract the drilling bit from the well. The driller started to pull the drill string out of the hole by employing the normal method to avoid swabbing the well in. When the bit was halfway out, the well took a water kick that displaces some drilling mud out. The Blow Out Preventer (BOP) was shut in as per standard method. This kick was later killed using a standard method successfully. The well was now dead with no more pressure in the well, the BOP was open and the well was in a safe condition. We were started to continue to pull the drill string out, but found that it was differentially stuck. A preparation to fish the stuck pipe was underway when at 5am May 29 our team were alerted to a broach 150–200 meters from our drilling site. Naturally we were concerned of the situation, the broach wasn’t on our land, but we had access to experts that could advise on possible causes and importantly potential ways to halt the broach. Under normal PSC and operating requirements we reported the broach to BP MIGAS and our joint venture partners. An investigation was launched into the source of the mud and ways to stop it."
It was subsequently discovered that the broach (a mud eruption) 150–200 metres away from the drilling site was not the only location and that mud was erupting from five other locations up to a kilometre from the drilling site. Within a week of the mud eruption an article in the Jakarta Post newspaper NGO (Walhi) and JV partner (Medco) were fingering blame on Lapindo Brantas for triggering the mud eruption. It seems a letter was leaked to the Jakarta Post from Medco pointing out that they had earlier reminded Lapindo Brantas to install a steel casing to 8,500 feet, meaning that the entire well could be sealed in the event of problems. This accusation quickly became the catalyst for the widespread belief that negligent drilling was the cause of the mud eruption From this point onwards the mud spill was deemed a man-made disaster, not linked to the volcanic eruption.