Indigenous islanders in Australia stop $3.6 billion in gas drilling

• Santos firm dubbed a “disappointing” defeat for the $3.6 billion project.
• Australia’s Federal Court is in favor of an Indigenous group’s lawsuit.
• Itis drilling permission for Santos Ltd.’s Barossa gas development.

In what the Santos firm dubbed a “disappointing” defeat for the $3.6 billion project, Australia’s Federal Court has found in favor of an Indigenous group’s lawsuit against a drilling permission for Santos Ltd.’s Barossa gas development.

Dennis Tipakalippa and other Tiwi Island traditional landowners petitioned the court in June to quash the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority’s permission of drilling (NOPSEMA).

Tipakalippa asserted that the traditional Tiwi Island property is the nearest to the gas field and that he and other Tiwi Islanders have “sea country” rights that extend to and beyond the Barossa Field.

Santos, the second-largest independent gas producer in Australia, claimed that after consulting with relevant parties, it had obtained the necessary clearances.

The business asserted that the Tiwi Islanders did not need to be engaged because they were not significant project stakeholders.

Judge Mordecai Bromberg disagreed.

In a ruling issued on Wednesday, Judge Bromberg stated: “Mr. Tipakalippa has established that NOPSEMA… failed, in accordance with the Regulations, to assess whether the Drilling EP (environment plan) demonstrated that Santos consulted with each person that it was required by the Regulations to consult with.”

“The NOPSEMA acceptance (or license) was illegally provided. Therefore, NOPSEMA’s choice to accept the Drilling EP must be overturned, the judge said.

Appeals strategy

Santos announced on Wednesday that it will be appealing the judgement and argued that, given its importance to the business, its international joint venture partners, and its clients, the full Federal Court should reconsider the decision.

The leading power producer in Japan, JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, and the South Korean energy firm SK E&S are Santos’ partners in the Barossa project.

Santos faces high stakes

For Santos, the stakes are quite high.

The company’s largest project, Barossa, is crucial for its Darwin LNG facility, which will eventually run out of gas from its primary supply source, the Bayu Undan field.

Santos said it had “engaged with” Indigenous representative bodies, the Tiwi Land Council and the Northern Land Council, about the proposed drilling and that the regulator had accepted its efforts to consult with Tiwi islanders. Santos had agreed to halt drilling for the project until the court decision.

Also Read

Australia defeated India in the first T20 match

Australia beat India by four wickets to go 1-0 up in three-match...