Have your say on Santos' Barossa gas project

To the NTEPA,

I am writing to make a submission on the Darwin Pipeline Duplication Project that has been referred to the NTEPA for assessment under the Environment Protection Act 2019 (NT). I urge the NTEPA to conduct an environmental assessment of this Project, and to ensure this assessment is undertaken at the highest level—a public inquiry.

The Project is a new component of Santos’ proposed Barossa gas project. The Barossa gas project, if it goes ahead, will be the dirtiest gas project in the world. The Barossa gas field has the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) content of any gas field, and this CO2 will be vented into the atmosphere before the gas is transported to Darwin. The life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the Barossa project will be 15mtpa, producing more CO2 than LNG.

The proponent’s claim that GHG emissions are not a key factor for this referral should be rejected; it would be unacceptable if emissions from the world’s most carbon-intensive gas field escaped assessment by the NTEPA under the Environment Protection Act 2019 (NT). I therefore urge the NTEPA to consider the significant emissions that would result from this project when making their decision.

The proponent has stated in the referral document that undertaking the Project will allow the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline to be used for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The proponent makes a number of misleading claims about CCS in the referral document. CCS is an unproven technology that has a track record of failure. It is untested in an offshore gas reservoir such as Bayu-Undan. Any risk mitigation strategy that is premised on the viable functioning of CCS is inadequate. As such, the emissions profile of the project constitutes a significant impact that requires assessment at the highest possible level.

The Project is part of the intensified industrialisation of Darwin Harbour, with the transported gas to be used as a feedstock for petrochemical industries in the Harbour. This poses immense environmental, economic, cultural, and health risks for Darwin and surrounding areas and must be considered relevant to any assessment of the Project’s impacts.

The Barossa project as a whole should be called in for a referral under s53 (1) of the Environment Protection Act. At the very minimum, this Darwin Pipeline Duplication Project must be assessed by the NTEPA and must be assessed at the highest possible level.  I would like to see a public inquiry.

Yours sincerely,