Hot mud erupted across farmland in Roburan Dolok village, South Panyabungan District, North Sumatra, which is situated next the Sorik Marapi geothermal project operated by PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power (SMGP), on April 22, 2025.

According to the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), at least 10 new hot mud eruption points have been identified in residents’ farmland, located just 900 meters from SMGP’s wellpad E and a mere 317 meters away from residential areas. The eruptions have devastated more than four hectares of farmland, damaging rubber, candlenut, cocoa plantations, and productive rice fields.

"The geothermal industry, especially the Sorik Marapi project, has become a deadly disaster cloaked in the false narrative of green energy," Imam Shofwan, Head of the Network and Node Division at Jatam said as quoted in a statement on Saturday, April 26, 2025. "This project has endangered lives, destroyed agriculture, and polluted the environment − while the government turns a blind eye."

Residents described the phenomenon starting with small cracks emitting smoke, first reported in 2021, four years after drilling activities began. Despite repeated community reports, SMGP reportedly ignored the warnings. Over time, these cracks expanded into hazardous mud craters, increasingly encroaching on community lands.

This is not the first major incident linked to SMGP operations. Records compiled by Jatam show a troubling pattern:

• January 20, 2015: Clashes between pro- and anti-geothermal villagers resulted in one death and widespread property destruction.

• September 29, 2018: Two students drowned in an unprotected SMGP drilling water pond.

• January 25, 2021: A hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas leak killed five residents and hospitalized dozens more.

• March 6, 2022: Another H₂S leak sickened at least 58 people.

• April 24, 2022: A 30-meter high mud eruption hospitalized 21 villagers.

• September 2022: Multiple gas leaks affected more than 90 people in two separate incidents.

• February 2023 and 2024: Consecutive gas leaks hospitalized more than 120 residents each year.

According to Jatam, despite these repeated disasters, SMGP has faced little to no meaningful accountability. The only known sanction was a temporary suspension of operations in early 2021 after the gas leak that killed five people.

Today, fear, trauma, and deteriorating health conditions plague communities near SMGP’s geothermal fields. Villagers report persistent coughs, respiratory issues, and reduced agricultural yields, severely impacting their livelihoods.

Jatam, alongside local residents, demands a total shutdown of PT SMGP’s operations and calls for an independent, comprehensive, and transparent evaluation of all geothermal projects across Indonesia.

"What is happening in Mandailing Natal is not an isolated case," added Imam Shofwan. "Similar disasters are emerging in Dieng, Lahendong, Ulumbu, Mataloko, and Sokoria. Geothermal energy projects, marketed as climate solutions, are instead creating new ecological and human rights crises."

Jatam stresses that viewing geothermal as "clean energy" based solely on carbon emission metrics dangerously ignores the human cost and the widespread ecological destruction caused throughout the exploration and operational phases.

PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power (SMGP) has clarified that a recent hot water eruption observed in Roburan Dolok Village, Mandailing Natal Regency, is a natural phenomenon unrelated to its geothermal operations.

A video circulating on social media on April 22 showed a hot water manifestation in the village, prompting PT SMGP and the Mandailing Natal Environmental Office to conduct an on-site inspection the following day. According to their joint investigation, the eruption occurred at a location distinct from SMGP’s Pad-E well area.

The company insisted that the manifestations near Pad-E have been naturally occurring and under observation since 2021. Wells in that area were drilled in 2017 but have never produced steam or geothermal fluid, with the wellhead pressure remaining at zero barg, indicating no internal pressure.

"We want to assure the public that the recent hot water manifestation in Roburan Dolok Village is a natural phenomenon and has no direct connection to our geothermal wells at Pad-E," Agung Iswara, Corporate Communication Manager of PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power, spoke to Indonesia Business Post on Monday, April 28,2025.

"Our wells have been non-pressurized since drilling in 2017 and have never produced steam or geothermal fluids. PT SMGP remains fully committed to operating safely and in compliance with all applicable regulations."

The company explained that such manifestations are common in geothermal regions, where groundwater interacts with underground hot rocks. Similar phenomena have long been known by local communities, even before SMGP’s exploration activities began.

PT SMGP also noted that the Pad-E area is prone to high ground movement and natural fractures, making it susceptible to soil creep and landslides. Such geological activity could trigger the appearance of new surface manifestations at any time.