Australian oil and gas giant Santos has denied playing down the seriousness of a mud mountain, which it allegedly helped to create.

The company, responding to a report on the unstoppable mudflow that was caused by a gas drilling incident in Indonesia in 2006, said it rejected suggestions that it has understated the severity of that incident.

According to reliable reports from the UN and Australian governments, the disaster has so far caused economic damage of AUD$3.4 billion dollars to Indonesian land.

Santos has declared provisions of just AUD$88.5 million dollars to the Australian Stock Exchange to cover the clean-up cost.

Santos has not admitted any liability for the disaster.

Foreign scientists in Indonesia have found the mud mountain was caused by drilling by an oil and gas firm linked to the scheme.

(c) Sri Lanka Source