Page 9 - AsianOil Week 04 2023

AsianOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AsianOil

Santos suffers further delays at

Barossa project

AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA’S Santos has suffered more delays the company to do so. The order does not pre-
at its $3.6bn Barossa gas project in the country’s vent pipeline work starting, but a regulator
It is unclear when north, after a regulator instructed the company spokesperson told Reuters that it expects "San-
drilling or pipeline to assess environmental risks to underwater tos won't undertake any work that may result in
construction will start. indigenous cultural heritage before commenc- impacts and risks that haven’t been adequately
ing pipeline construction. identified, evaluated and managed."
Australia’s offshore regulator announced the
requirement on January 13. It follows a court Santos’
order made in December, which stated that San- Santos’ environmental plan must also be updat-
tos must consult indigenous people on the Tiwi ed to reflect any additional risks that are identi-
Lands regarding the environmental impact of fied, and lay out measures to reduce those risks,
the project’s drilling plan. "to as low as reasonably practicable and accept-
Pipeline construction was meant to begin at able levels," the spokesperson said.
the end of this month, with first gas from Barossa The company said it is abiding by the regula-
targeted for the first half of 2025. Santos has no tor’s notice.
date for when the new assessment will be com- "The pipeline installation is a low-impact
pleted, and it is now unclear when drilling will activity involving the laying of pipe on the sea-
resume, a spokesperson told Reuters. floor. There are no dredging or trenching activi-
Underwater cultural heritage includes for ties," the Santos spokesperson said.
example ancient stone tools that might be found, The Environmental Defenders Office,
like those discovered in waters off the Dampier which handled the Tiwi Islanders case against
Archipelago. The National Offshore Petroleum Santos last year, praised the regulator for its
Safety and Environmental Management Author- notice.
ity issued the order after inspecting Santos’ "We will continue to work closely with our
offices on short notice on December 21-22. Tiwi clients to ensure their rights are upheld
Santos has said it will evaluate the impacts and their cultural heritage, in all its forms, is
and risks of underwater work that was not previ- preserved for current and future generations,"
ously included in its environmental plan for the Alina Leikin, special counsel for the non-profit
pipeline. But the regulator nevertheless ordered legal centre, told Reuters. ™

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