Santos wins approval for Narrabri gas project

Australian LNG operator Santos has secured approval for its A$3.6 billion ($2.6 billion) Narrabri gas project in northwest New South Wales, but with 134 conditions attached.

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission said it has imposed strict conditions on a “phased” approval of the Narrabri coal seam gas project.

The project has faced quite a backlash from critics as the state panel said it received more than 11,000 written submissions. These were, among others, related to groundwater, climate change, and health impacts.

“Following its detailed deliberations, the Commission concludes the project is in the public interest and that any negative impacts can be effectively mitigated with strict conditions,” the commission said.

Further approvals needed

In a separate statement released on Wednesday, Santos welcomed the approval and accepted all the imposed conditions.

“Santos is excited about the prospect of developing the Narrabri Gas Project, a 100 percent domestic gas project that can provide the lowest cost source of gas for NSW customers,” CEO Kevin Gallagher said.

“This major step forward is welcome, but we must now gain the approval of the Federal Minister for the Environment under the EPBC Act as well as other subsequent approvals,” he said.

While these approval processes are under way, Santos will start planning for workover activities immediately on existing wells under its current exploration tenures.

Once all approvals are in place, Santos would start a 12 to 18-month appraisal drilling program, including expansion of the firm’s water monitoring network.

Furthermore, this appraisal will inform the final plans for the phased development of the project.

According to Santos, the Narrabri project has the potential to supply enough natural gas to meet up to half of NSW’s natural gas demand.

- Advertisements -

Most Popular

RWE: Brunsbuettel FSRU to start supplying gas to grid next week

German energy firm RWE expects the 170,000-cbm FSRU Hoegh Gannet, which serves the Elbehafen LNG import terminal in Brunsbuettel,...

NextDecade targeting Rio Grande LNG FID by end of second quarter

US LNG terminal developer NextDecade is now expecting to take a final investment decision on the first three trains...

Shell teams up with Victrol and Sogestran for another LNG bunkering barge

LNG giant Shell has joined forces with a joint venture consisting of Belgium’s Victrol and French Sogestran to build...

More News Like This

TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Santos launch Papua LNG FEED

Operator TotalEnergies and its partners ExxonMobil and Santos have launched fully-integrated front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Papua...

Santos logs record profit on high prices

Australian LNG player Santos reported record profit in 2022 due to high liquefied natural gas prices and increased PNG...

Maintenance planned at Gorgon LNG and GLNG in Australia

Chevron and Santos are planning to perform maintenance works during April-July at their two LNG export plants in Australia....

Australia’s Santos reports record sales revenue

Australia’s Santos reported a record sales revenue in 2022 on the back of high liquefied natural gas prices and...