BP and West Papua

It all seems a very long way away. But what is happening in an obscure island nation in the South Pacific has now become our business. A few weeks ago, BP, the British company which has invested most in "corporate social responsibility", received final approval to start developing a gas field in West Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea.(1) There is nothing unusual about this: oil and gas companies are opening new fields all the time. What makes this operation interesting is the question of whether BP has any right to be there.

In Bed With Killers
by George Monbiot