Santos faces regulator warning over Barossa project compliance in Australia

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Santos Barossa compliance warning

Highlights

NOPSEMA inspections in March identified Santos' continued non-compliance with the Barossa environmental management plan, especially regarding fuel usage and flaring in Darwin Harbour.
Several months after initial warnings, Santos had not rectified excess fuel and flare emissions, raising concerns of deeper environmental management issues at Barossa.
Santos faces project ramp-up setbacks, risking delays to Asian gas shipments, but reported no enforcement action or non-compliance notices from NOPSEMA as of the latest update.

Regulator concerns after Barossa inspections

As reported by ABC News, Australia's offshore oil and gas regulator has raised concerns with Santos after inspections of its onshore gas storage facility in Darwin Harbour and its offshore Barossa facility found continued non-compliance with parts of the project's environmental management plan.

NOPSEMA said in a letter to Santos that a March inspection of the Darwin Harbour site showed numerous critical aspects of the plan were not being followed, particularly on fuel usage and flaring, which contributes to CO2 emissions. The regulator then said a subsequent offshore inspection found the issues had not been rectified several months after its initial objections.

The letter said Santos failed to manage fuel and flare performance in line with its environmental plan, with both measures exceeding estimates during the hook-up and commissioning phase. NOPSEMA added that ineffective management of environmental equipment could point to a broader underlying problem.

Project setbacks and company response

Santos, Australia's second-largest oil and gas company, is already facing multiple setbacks in ramping up Barossa, including delays to gas shipments to Asia. The project is a major development for the company, making regulatory concerns over emissions and pollution controls commercially significant.

Economists and environmentalists have criticized Santos for allegedly ignoring issues that could lead to higher than expected emissions and pollution levels. In response, a Santos spokesperson said the company has engaged with NOPSEMA to develop a forward plan following the inspections.

Santos also said it has not faced enforcement action from NOPSEMA over the Barossa project and has not received any non-compliance notices related to fuel and flare obligations.

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