Indigenous Australians Seek to Block Santos Gas Project
A group of Indigenous Australians has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Santos Ltd from developing a $3.6 billion gas project off northern Australia, saying they were not consulted about the drilling. Tiwi Islanders from the Northern Territory’s Tiwi Islands are claiming they have not been adequately consulted about Santos’ Barossa gas project, the pipeline of which will run through Tiwi Sea country. Therefore, Senior Tiwi Traditional Owner, Dennis Tipakalippa, is taking the federal offshore oil and gas regulator National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to court to challenge its decision to approve Santos’ plan to drill the Barossa gas field, saying he and his people were never consulted about the drilling.
“It’s all about our future generations. That’s what I worry for. What are they going to have, who are they going to be? Our lives are not just lived on the land, but in the sea – this home that we have loved for thousands of generations,” Tipakalippa said. Both Santos and NOPSEMA declined to comment on the lawsuit. NOPSEMA referred to its approval of the project, which said “consultation has taken place with relevant persons as required”, including with community-based bodies such as the Tiwi Land Council and the Northern Land Council. The move by the traditional owners comes after a South Korean court last month dismissed their application to block Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Trade Insurance Corp from providing loans for the Barossa project’s pipeline.
The Barossa gas field is located 300 kilometres offshore Darwin in Australia. It is operated by Santos with South Korea’s SK E&S as a partner and is due to start producing gas in 2025. Santos sanctioned the $3.6 billion gas and condensate project in March 2021, also kick-starting the $600 million investment in the Darwin LNG life extension and pipeline tie-in projects to extend the facility life for around 20 years. The Barossa development concept includes an FPSO vessel developed using steel fabrication with a processing capacity for up to 800 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas and a design capacity of 11,000 barrels per day of stabilized condensate, a subsea production system, supporting in-field subsea infrastructure in the Barossa field, and a subsea gas export pipeline.
In the latest case, the traditional owners allege the drilling will threaten their culture, way of life and food sources, affecting the breeding patterns and nesting grounds of turtles, dugongs and whales. Santos was required by law to consult with people who might be impacted by the drilling plans and since the company failed to do that, the decision by NOPSEMA is invalid, the lawyers for the Traditional Owners said. Santos said in March that it undertakes consultation with all key stakeholders for all of its projects.