Santos courts controversy on Barossa gas
Santos has taken steps to start installing the pipeline for its $5.8 billion Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea, even as it awaits regulatory approvals for the drilling work it was forced to suspend more than a year ago because of a court ruling.
The oil and gas producer is racking up a hire bill of about $US10 million ($15.7 million) a month for a drilling rig that has lain idle since September last year after a Tiwi Islander won a landmark case challenging Santos’ approval from the offshore petroleum regulator for the work.
Santos’ Barossa project is opposed by some Tiwi Islanders. Rebecca Parker/ECNT
In its September-quarter update released on Thursday, Santos said it had advised the offshore petroleum regulator that it planned to start laying the pipeline after complying with requirements to check for underwater sites of cultural significance along the route. That extra requirement was imposed in January.
An expert it hired found no cultural heritage sites along the pipeline route that could be affected by the project.
Chief executive Kevin Gallagher has said drilling at Barossa needs to resume by the end of the year to avoid a delay to the start-up of the project, which is intended to supply replacement gas for the Darwin LNG plant, which ships cargoes to Japan and South Korea.
Santos reiterated that view in its quarterly report, noting construction at Barossa was 68 per cent complete.
“Assuming that drilling re-commences before end-2023 and that the GEP [gas export pipeline] commences installation in 2023, the Barossa project remains on target to commence production in the first half of 2025 and within current cost guidance,” the company said.
However, activist shareholder group the Australasian Centre for
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