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.
