Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Secrets Beneath The Rubble: ExxonMobil In Papua New Guinea

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/exxonmobil-papua-new-guin_n_5242489.html

There are some disturbing facts buried in the debris of ExxonMobil’s $19 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, which was funded in part by a U.S. government loan. In 2012, a landslide from an ExxonMobil quarry there killed 27 people -- a disaster ExxonMobil and the government of Papua New Guinea declared to be an act of God.
Other evidence, however, paints a very different picture -- and also reveals the entire project is fueling civil unrest that may be approaching a boiling point.
Our short documentary, which accompanies an in-depth piece published April 30 in The Nation, looks at what actually happened in landslide in Papua New Guinea.




Exxon announced earlier this week that its liquified natural gas facility in Papua New Guinea has started operating.
Written by: Ian T. Shearn and Olivier Pollet
Narration by: Ian T. Shearn
Edited by: Alexandre Berman
Videography by: Olivier Pollet and Spencer Austad
Academic Advisor: Dr. Kristian Laslett, International State Crime
Special thanks to: The Australian Centre for Independent Journalism
The film was produced by The Gumption Group, with support from the Mailman Foundation, The Nation Institute and the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Ian T. Shearn, a Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper journalist, is currently a freelance journalist and communications consultant at his New Jersey media company, The Gumption Group. His previous works include investigative pieces on ExxonMobil in Indonesia for Mother Jones and on the American Farm Bureau for The Nation.
Olivier Pollet is a French journalist and independent documentary filmmaker. He directed and produced Canning Paradise, an award-winning investigative feature film about the tuna industry in Papua New Guinea. His works concentrate on human rights, the environment and development issues.