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Santos Ltd. (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, with its headquarters in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. It owns
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
(LNG), pipeline gas, and oil assets. It is the biggest supplier of natural gas in Australia, with its plants in the
Cooper Basin The Cooper Basin is a Permian-Triassic sedimentary geological basin in Australia. The basin is located mainly in the southwestern part of Queensland and extends into northeastern South Australia. It is named after the Cooper Creek which is an ...
in South Australia and
South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...
supplying the
eastern states of Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territor ...
. Its operations also extend to the seas off
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
. The company has been criticised by environmentalists and others for its high level of
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
, its lobbying of political parties, and various incidents causing contamination. Santos provides sponsorship of several arts festivals and bodies, charities, and the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
's Australian School of Petroleum.


History

Santos was incorporated on 18 March 1954, with its name an
acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
of South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search. Its core business was initially built on gas discoveries in the
Cooper Basin The Cooper Basin is a Permian-Triassic sedimentary geological basin in Australia. The basin is located mainly in the southwestern part of Queensland and extends into northeastern South Australia. It is named after the Cooper Creek which is an ...
, South Australia, with the discovery and development of the Gidgealpa 2 well in 1963 and Moomba 1 in 1966. It signed supply contracts with the
South Australian Gas Company The South Australian Gas Company (later known as SAGASCO) was formed in 1861 twenty-five years after the colony of South Australia was first settled. The establishment of gasworks from 1863 provided not only industry and employment but also stree ...
, the
Electricity Trust of South Australia The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999. Precursors Early days (1882–1900) Charles Todd, an ea ...
and the
Australian Gas Light Company The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) was an Australian gas and electricity retailer, operated entirely by McCarthy Hanlin. It was formed in Sydney in 1837 and supplied town gas for the first public lighting of a street lamp in Sydney in 1841. AG ...
, commencing supply in 1969. After oil was discovered at Tirrawarra, near
Moomba, South Australia Moomba is a company town located in the Australian state of South Australia within the gazetted locality of Gidgealpa about north of the state capital of Adelaide. It is operated by Santos Limited for the purpose of exploration and processing ...
, in the early 1970s, the company developed its liquid supply operations, which included a plant at Moomba and a
fractionation Fractionation is a separation process in which a certain quantity of a mixture (of gases, solids, liquids, enzymes, or isotopes, or a suspension) is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities (fractions) in which the ...
and loading facility at
Port Bonython Port Bonython is the location of a deepwater port, gas fractionation plant and diesel storage facility west of Point Lowly in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. It lies 16 km east-northeast of Whyalla, South Australia and app ...
. In the 1990s, the company expanded, acquiring other companies and developing its operations both onshore and offshore in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. Also in this decade it acquired interests in
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
in the United States and United Kingdom, as well as operations in the
Timor Sea The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs, ...
and
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. The
Ballera gas plant Ballera gas plant is a natural-gas processing facility in the locality of Durham in the southwestern Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Santos Limited. The gas plant processes gas from approximately 130 wells in 45 gas fields in the Eroman ...
in
South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...
was established in 1991 and upgraded in 1997. In 2015 Santos began producing LNG, shipping it to
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. In August 2018 Santos announced the acquisition of Australian oil and gas company Quadrant Energy for $2.15 billion. As part of the deal, Santos obtained Quadrant's 80% stake in Dorado in the
Bedout Basin Bedout , or more specifically the Bedout High, is a geological and geophysical feature centered about off the northwestern coast of Australia in the Canning and overlying Roebuck basins. Although not obvious from sea floor topography, it is a r ...
in northern Western Australia. In May 2020 Santos completed its acquisition of
ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
' northern Australia and
Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
assets for US$1.265 billion as well as a contingent payment of US$200 million, which gave Santos control of ageing offshore assets in Bayu-Undan,
subsea Subsea technology involves fully submerged ocean equipment, operations, or applications, especially when some distance offshore, in deep ocean waters, or on the seabed. The term ''subsea'' is frequently used in connection with oceanography, marin ...
assets in the
Timor Sea The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs, ...
, and onshore gas plant Darwin LNG (DLNG), which included the Bayu-Undan to Darwin Pipeline. At the completion of the deal with ConocoPhillips, the interest of Santos in these assets was increased to 68.4%, The sale was contingent on a final investment decision on the future #Barossa project, which once concluded increased Santos' interest in the project to 62.5%.


Description and governance

Santos is one of Australia's domestic gas and oil producers, supplying sales gas to all mainland Australian states and territories,
ethane Ethane ( , ) is an organic chemical compound with chemical formula . At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural gas and as a petr ...
to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and oil and liquids to domestic and international customers. It is the biggest supplier of natural gas in Australia, Australia's second-largest independent producer of oil and
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
, and was slated to become the world's biggest
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
(LNG) exporter by 2019. In the 2020
Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
, Santos was ranked as the 1583rd-largest public company in the world. Santos has its headquarters at 60 Flinders Street, Adelaide. It also has offices in Brisbane, Sydney,
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
. Since 1 February 2016 and the company's CEO has been Kevin Gallagher. He was preceded by David Knox.


Operations

The South Australian and Queensland gas reserves are the main sources of natural gas to the
eastern states of Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territor ...
. Santos is the primary venture partner and operator of natural gas processing facilities at Moomba in SA and Ballera in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, and pipelines connecting those facilities with Adelaide, Sydney,
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
and
Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...
.


Gas and LNG

Santos has made significant discoveries in the Browse Basin, off the northwest of
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. On 22 August 2014 the company announced a major
gas condensate Natural-gas condensate, also called natural gas liquids, is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. Some gas species within the raw natur ...
discovery at the Lasseter-1 exploration well in WA-274-P in the basin, in which Santos had a 30% interest in company with
Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
(50%) and
Inpex INPEX (Invention and New Product Exposition) is America's largest invention trade show, held since 1985 and organized by the invention promotion firm InventHelp. The annual show is held each June in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. INPEX provides a fo ...
(20%). It was the second major discovery by the company in the area in two years. On 7 September 2017 Santos pledged to divert 30 petajoules of gas from the Gladstone LNG plant slated for export into Australia's east coast market in 2018 and 2019, as part of efforts to avert government-imposed restrictions on gas exports to solve local gas shortages. Because of shortages in its own supply of gas for export, Santos rely on purchasing gas from third parties to supply its overseas contracts. Santos has an interest in the Darwin LNG project, which was the first
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
project in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
and the second in Australia. It has been supplied by the Bayu-Undan field, which is anticipated will be exhausted during the 2020s, hence the intention to develop the
Barossa project Santos Ltd. (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, with its headquarters in Adelaide, South Australia. It owns liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline gas, and oil assets. ...
to replace the dwindling reserves.


Barossa project

The Barossa project is a proposed
gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
in the
Timor Sea The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs, ...
, intended to take over from Bayu-Undan field after its reserves are exhausted, supplying LNG to the Darwin facility via a new pipeline which, for part of its length, run parallel to the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin Pipeline. Condensate oil will also be extracted. It is situated around north of Darwin, in Australian waters. Worth , the project was signed off in 2021, with gas production is expected to commence in 2025. The project is expected to create about 600 jobs during construction and 350 ongoing jobs in Darwin over the following 20 years. The project has been criticised for its future
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
. If developed, Barossa would become the most carbon-intensive gas development in Australia. When the project was purchased from ConocoPhillips in 2020, it was projected to produce 1.5 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of LNG. A 2021 report using the Darwin LNG project as a case study suggested that emissions could be greatly reduced by the use of
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
by using Sun Cable's
Australia-Asia Power Link The Australia–Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) is a proposed electricity infrastructure project that is planned to include the world's largest solar plant, the world's largest battery, and the world's longest submarine power cable. A solar farm ...
. but the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) described the project as an “emissions factory with a gas by-product”, saying that even if it employed
carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...
, the project would continue to release financially risky carbon dioxide emissions at the site, onshore and across the whole
supply chain In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...
. A March 2022 legal challenge by leaders of the Jikilaruwu
Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...
clan targeted the South Korean state-owned Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, which are planning to lend Santos approximately (£530m). They hoped to prevent Santos from building the gas pipeline near Cape Fourcroy, a habitat for many marine species, and a place where many Aboriginal people hunt, live, and camp. However the case failed in the Seoul District Court. In June 2022
traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
of the
Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...
filed a lawsuit against Santos and the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
, who they said had not properly consulted them. In the lawsuit Dennis Tipakalippa (senior lawman of the Munipi Clan) also argued that
NOPSEMA The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is the Australian Government offshore energy regulator responsible for the health and safety, well integrity and environmental management aspects of offshore ...
, the federal offshore gas regulator, should not have approved Santos’ plans to drill the Barossa gas field due to the Santos' inadequate consultation. The traditional owners are concerned about the effect on the nesting areas of flatback and
olive ridley turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in th ...
s, which provide one of the
Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
's traditional food sources. Four federal government marine parks, including Ashmore Reef, are also in the vicinity. Santos has submitted an environmental impact plan, which includes the potential impact of an oil spill, and its plans for cleanup should one occur. In September 2022 Judge Mordecai Bromberg dismissed Santos’ environmental plan, thus invalidating its authorisation for drilling. As a result Santos had to disconnect its drilling rig from the sea north of Melville Island and leave the Barossa field by 6 October 2022.


Financial results

Santos' production for 2008 was of oil equivalent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisations and exploration expenses for the period was A$2.8 billion, representing after tax profit of A$1.65 billion. On 22 August 2014 the company said its oil production was at its highest level in six years. For the first half of 2014, Santos recorded sales revenue of $1.8 billion, an increase of 20% on the comparable period the previous year. Sales volumes rose by 5% to 28.9 million barrels of oil equivalent. As a result of the company writing off its investment in a coal seam gas project in Indonesia, the 2014 first-half profit being down 24% at $206 million. In 2015, Santos' financial troubles became more evident as the share price crashed to one third of its value from the previous year. It hit a 12-year low and has stayed low since. This occurred because of mounting debt and an oil price slump. CEO David Knox was forced to leave, with chairman Peter Coates stepping into the role and leading a strategic review of the gas company. Options of partial asset sale, even takeovers, has been speculated including "No options will be ruled out from consideration, but neither is any particular option a preferred course at this time," Coates said.


Issues


Greenhouse gas emissions

In 2020, Santos was named on a list of Australia's 65 worst
greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
emitting companies. Following additional pressure from ethical investors, Santos announced a goal to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
to achieve
net zero Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
emissions by 2040 using a combination of
carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...
,
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
and offsetting through
tree planting Tree-planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purpose. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less re ...
programs.


Lobbying and political donations

Santos has engaged Adelaide-based consultancy Bespoke Approach to lobby the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
and the state governments of New South Wales and Queensland. Other lobbyists which have represented Santos include: Kreab Gavin Anderson (Australia) Ltd,
Craig Emerson Craig Anthony Emerson (born 15 November 1954) is an Australian economist and former Australian Labor Party politician. He served as the Australian House of Representatives Member for the Division of Rankin in Queensland from 1998 until 2013. E ...
Economics and Australian Public Affairs. In the financial year 2012–13, Santos Ltd gave donations directly to the
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
,
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
, and
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
political parties at state and federal levels. Donations are tabled below.


Incidents


Moomba explosions, South Australia

On 1 January 2004 an explosion occurred at Santos' Moomba processing facility. The blast was traced to the Liquids Recovery Plant (LRP), where an inlet manifold and a related flange weld both failed after corrosion by mercury. Mercury was released along with a cloud of flammable gases including methane, ethane, propane and butane. Workers saw the cloud and raised the alarm, shutting down the plant and evacuating to designated safety points. Some workers allegedly did not hear the emergency alarms. The gas cloud ignited on contact with a heating unit 150 metres away, and an explosion followed. The plant was seriously damaged. Moomba workers who sought to remain anonymous told ''The Australian'' newspaper on 5 January that the company was running a "cowboy" operation, and that it was luck, not management that had prevented any loss of life. They also said that the emergency muster area was too close to the plant in the event of a major tank explosion. Gas supplies to South Australia and New South Wales were interrupted, leading to down-time in the manufacturing sector and short-term rationing measures in both states while repairs were made. Santos spent $40 million on remedial action following the incident. In 2011, the South Australian industrial relations court ruled that 13 employees had been placed at risk due to critical safety shortcomings. These included an inadequate risk assessment which failed to identify the likelihood of plant failing due to liquid metal rendering it brittle. The company pleaded guilty to breaching the ''Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act'' after a SafeWork prosecution and was fined $84,000.


Sidoarjo mud flow, Indonesia

In May 2006, the
Sidoarjo mud flow The Sidoarjo mud flow (commonly known as ''Lumpur Lapindo,'' wherein ''lumpur'' is the Indonesian word for mud) is the result of an erupting mud volcano in the subdistrict of Porong, Sidoarjo in East Java, Indonesia that has been in eruption ...
disaster occurred in
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
, Indonesia. Controversy exists surrounding the probable cause of the disaster which has displaced approximately 10,000 people and covered villages, farms and industrial areas with mud. The eruption is ongoing, though since 2011 the rate of flow has reduced. Santos had stated in June 2006 that it maintained "appropriate insurance coverage for these types of occurrences".


Port Bonython groundwater contamination, South Australia

In May 2008, groundwater contamination was reported to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) following detection at Santos' Port Bonython site,
Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...
, South Australia. Hydrocarbons were found floating on and in the groundwater. One hundred and fifty inspection wells were later established, and a cement
bentonite Bentonite () is an absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelling capacity than Ca-mon ...
wall was constructed 'to stop the further spread of contamination off-site' including to the marine environment. In May 2012, Santos reported declining rates of hydrocarbon recovery from groundwater extraction wells and claimed that their remediation efforts were working.


Pilliga CSG wastewater spill, New South Wales

In 2011, a 10,000-litre spill of untreated coal seam gas water occurred impacting native vegetation and soil in the Pilliga forest. Coal seam gas extraction produces water that can contain lead, mercury, various salts and other heavy metals. Rehabilitation has been trying to restore this site to remediate elevated contamination in the soil.


Jackson oil spill, Queensland

In May 2013, an uncontrolled
oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
was reported in Santos' Zeus field near
Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...
in Queensland's remote south-west. The flow lasted 'almost a week' before international experts were able to contain it. The rate of flow was estimated at 50,000 litres per day.


Uranium contamination of Narrabri aquifers, New South Wales

In 2013, groundwater monitoring detected elevated levels of salinity and heavy metals near Santos' Tintsfield ponds in the Pilliga forest. Also it was reported that at the Bibblewindi ponds, uranium 20 times above the safe drinking levels was detected. A NSW Government investigation into the incident determined the leak was "small, localised and contained" and drinking water sources and stock and domestic water sources were not impacted nor were they at risk. The Investigation also found that the uranium detected was not from the pond's water, but was from naturally occurring Uranium in the surrounding soil that was mobilised from the leaking pond.


Climate activism

In March 2021, four
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
protesters glued themselves to the road outside the Santos building in Adelaide, and two scaled the building, painted messages on it, set off flares and glued themselves to the building. Police and firefighters had to remove them and the protesters, who included three women aged over 64, were charged. They were protesting against
fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...
, and called upon Santos to invest more in
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
. Tiwi Islanders won a landmark case in September 2022, against drilling for gas by Santos in their traditional waters after complaining that the company failed to consult them about the impact of the project. Judge Mordecai Bromberg set aside approval for the drilling, part of Santos’s $4.7bn Barossa project and gave Santos two weeks to shut down and remove its rig from the sea north of Melville Island. The Judge said the offshore oil and gas regulator Nopsema failed to assess whether Santos had consulted with everyone affected by the proposed drilling, as required by the law.


Sponsorship

Santos sponsors many community activities, events, institutions and projects in jurisdictions where they operate commercially. In October 2014, ''The Advertiser'' claimed that Santos spends $10 million annually on South Australian community groups, events and institutions. Figures published in Santos' 2014 Sustainability Report state that $7,487,731 was spent on 'Community investment' in South Australia that financial year and $3,108,057 in Queensland. Other jurisdictions received between $5,000 (South Korea) and $775,255 (Western Australia) and the total 'community investment' spent across all regions during 2013–14 was $13,217,617.


South Australia

Recipients of financial support from Santos in South Australia have included: * Adelaide Symphony Orchestra *
Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
*
Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital ...
* Come Out Festival (2009) – People's Puppets Project, Whyalla * Committee for Adelaide – founding member *
OzAsia Festival OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is an Asia-focused arts festival in South Australia, presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. It features theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts ...
* RiAus – $5 million AUD foundation partner"Establishing another champion of exploration and discovery"
''Santos Ltd'' (2009). Retrieved 22 January 2014.
* Santos Conservation Centre at the
Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologic ...
*
Santos Stadium SA Athletics Stadium is a comprehensive, modern athletics facility. Located only a few minutes drive from the Adelaide CBD, the athletics facility offers a national standard nine lane running track and field complex including training and warm-u ...
athletics venue * Santos Tour Down Under
UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...
cycling event * The Smith Family *
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
– Australian School of Petroleum – $25 million AUD over 10 years


Queensland

Recipients of financial support from Santos in Queensland have included: *
Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...
– $1.5 million AUD over 5 years * Santos GLNG Food & Fire Fest * Queensland Police Service's ''Stay on Track Outback'' road safety campaign (2012–2014)


ANU divestment

In October 2014, the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
(ANU) sold its shares in Santos and several other companies in the nation's most reported case of fossil fuel industry divestment. Santos responded by claiming that gas is necessary in the state's future energy mix, and '' The Advertiser'' published its economic value to South Australia. It was reported that Santos employed 3500 people nationally as well as thousands of contractors, and had a $13 billion market value. Politicians expressing their support for the company included the Prime Minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
and federal MPs
Jamie Briggs Jamie Edward Briggs (born 9 June 1977) is a former Australian politician, who represented the House of Representatives seat of Mayo for the Liberal Party of Australia from the 2008 Mayo by-election to the 2 July 2016 federal election. Briggs w ...
, Christopher Pyne, James McGrath,
Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is a former Australian politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, repre ...
and Treasurer
Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott Government from 18 September 2 ...
. Several senior state ministers also spoke out against the decision to divest in South Australia and Queensland, including South Australian Treasurer
Tom Koutsantonis Anastasious "Tom" Koutsantonis is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in the South Australian ...
. Former Liberal party leaders
John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson was ...
and
Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...
both supported ANU's right to choose how and where to invest its money. ANU chancellor Gareth Evans said that the university had not described Santos as a "socially irresponsible" company, and in a letter to Santos CEO David Knox, Evans said the university regretted any embarrassment suffered by Santos over the decision to divest.


Opposition to Santos sponsorship

In December 2014, photographs showing Queensland police vehicles featuring Santos company logos was criticised by anti-coal seam gas group Lock the Gate Alliance. Santos contributed approximately $40,000 to the road safety program "stay on track outback" which was described as valuable addition to a road safety campaign. Queensland Police commissioner Ian Stewart described the vehicles as "PR vehicles that we use at shows, we use at expos, all of those sorts of things just as any PR machine would be used by a company or another government organisation." Online activists referred to the sponsorship as a "conflict of interest" and "a bloody disgrace" with Stop Brisbane Coal Trains spokesman John Gordon calling for the logos to be removed. Santos responded by stating that the company was "proud to support a program that promotes safe driving and is saving lives in outback Australia." Queensland's Police Minister
Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
defended the program and its sponsors stating "The Queensland Police Service's 'Stay on Track Outback' is a road safety program aimed at keeping communities safer and reducing road trauma in regional Queensland. It has been in place since 2012 thanks to support from a number of sponsors." In 2015, the Frack Free NT Alliance (a diverse group of opposing shale gas in the Northern Territory) called for the
Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifest ...
to reject Santos sponsorship due to the company's involvement in
shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some a ...
exploration and development in the Northern Territory.
Dayne Pratzky Dayne Pratzky is an Australian anti-fracking activist known colloquially as the '' Frackman''. He is also the subject of a 2015 feature-length documentary film of the same name produced by Smith & Nasht. A former tunnel-digger and resident of S ...
, '' Frackman'', supported the call. On 19 October 2022, Santos announced they would not renew their 20 year funding agreement with the
Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifest ...
. In 2021 and 2022,
Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
held protests at the
Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital ...
to denounce Santos' sponsorship of the Santos Museum of Economic Botany. Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Ben Brooker described the arrangement, slated to last until 2029, as "a terrible stain on this treasured institution" and one that "goes absolutely against the letter and the spirit of the Garden's own charter, which of course has biodiversity and conservation at its heart", adding that "we just do not feel that those values are compatible with taking money from an incredibly destructive fossil fuel company".


See also

*
Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System The Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System is a natural gas pipeline delivering gas from the Cooper Basin gas wells near Moomba to Adelaide, with spur pipelines to Angaston and Whyalla. It can also receive gas from Southeastern Queensland through the ...


References


Further reading

*Weidenbach, K. (2014): ''Blue flames, black gold: The story of Santos.'' Santos Pty Ltc.


External links

* {{Authority control Oil companies of Australia Natural gas companies of Australia Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Companies based in Adelaide Non-renewable resource companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in Australia Australian brands