Directions issued by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Authority are more serious than notices and titleholders can face fines and more if they are ignored. 

 

"During the inspection, NOPSEMA Inspectors identified that the registered holders planned to commence the construction activity (for the pipeline) at the end of January 2023," it said. 

 

The regulator issued the directions in mid-January but has only made them public this week. 

 

It has already halted drilling at the fields, but now must halt consturction of its pipeline as well, after not informing the regulator it planned to start laying pipe for the multi billion dollar project that is critical to keep Darwin LNG supplying its Asian customers. 

 

The company must identify any underwater cultural heritage places along its lengthy Barossa pipeline route to shore after losing an appeal in the Federal Court at the end of 2022 that found it had not consulted adequately with traditional owners. 

 

The pipeline will run from the Barossas fields to the depleted Bayu Undan gas fields and then to the Darwin LNG plant as bakcfill. 

 

The pipeline route's closest point to shore is approximately seven kilometres off the western parts of the Tiwi Islands, whose landholders brought the case last year. 

 

Santos must use independent experts with relevant experience to do this. 

 

The experts must "obtain information from people and /or organisations who have, in accordance with Indigenous tradition, spiritual and cultural connections to any underwater cultural heritage places along the Pipeline route that may be affected by the activities; and ii. record and have regard to the information obtained," NOPSEMA said. 

 

Santos "must provide details of the control measures (if any) adopted to demonstrate that the environmental impacts and risks of the activity will be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) and be of acceptable levels". 

 

This must be then presented in a report given to affected persons and to NOPSEMA. 

 

Should cultural heritage sites be discovered Santos will have to update its environmental plan, as per earlier direction by the court. 

 

It must include what the regulator calls "regular consent" as required under regulations.   

 

It must submit progress reports on this every seven days until it has satisfied the directions. 

 

"The Barossa Gas Export Pipeline EP was accepted by NOPSEMA in March 2020 following a full and complete consultation process and it continues to be in place. All matters identified by stakeholders during the process were addressed," a Santos spokesperson said. 

 

"As is usual practice, Santos is following the procedures in the approved Environment Plan and implementing the General Direction.

 

"The pipeline installation is a low-impact activity involving the laying of pipe on the seafloor. There are no dredging or trenching activities."

 

In mid-December NOPSEMA updated its guidelines around stakeholder consultation based on the judgment issued by the full bench of the Federal Court after it ruled against Santos' appeal in a case relating to traditional owner and stakeholder consultation. 

 

Offshore project proponents must ensure adequate consultation with relevant persons and goes beyond the Native Title Act to recognise cultural values such as connection to country, and in the case of the Tiwi Islanders who brought the case against Santos, connection to sea country. 

 

At the beginning of December the Federal Court ruled against Santos' appeal and upheld the prior judgment that it did adequately consult with Traditional Owners as required by the environmental plan submitted to NOPSEMA.  

 

The new guidelines, released December 16, adhere to the statement issued by the full bench of the court. NOPSEMA gave a one hour presentation and question and answer session then.

 

"The clear message from government and NOPSEMA is that the decision provides certainty around the requirements," head of division for environment and decommissioning Cameron Grebe said during a presentation then. 

 

Thanks to the change there is now a backlog of EPs that have not been signed off by the regulator as companies digest what it means for them.

 

Four of Woodside Energy Group's EPs related to its Scarborough LNG project remain in limbo but CEO and managing director Meg O'Neill said they were not "path critical" yet.