EDO to pay Santos $9m for halting $5.8b project

The Federal Court has ordered the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) to pay Santos (ASX: STO) more than $9m after it attempted to block the $5.8b Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea in the Northern Territory.

The EDO acted as the lawyers for three Tiwi Islanders in the proceedings to stop Santos from installing a 262km underwater gas export pipeline that runs from the Barossa gas field to the existing Bayu-Undan pipeline, citing interference with cultural songlines of the rainbow serpent and the “Crocodile Man”.

Two weeks earlier, Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) commenced legal proceedings to overturn the decision made by Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek to veto the $1b McPhillamy’s gold project.

Minister Pilbersek said she made the partial declaration under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (ATSIHP) Act 1984 to protect a significant Aboriginal heritage site near Blayney, in central west NSW, from being destroyed to build a tailings dam for the gold project.

The EDO provided legal assistance to a Section 10 applicant, a Wiradjuri elder, over concerns the dam would destroy a sacred songline east of the Belubula River.

Northern Territory Lands, Planning and Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne welcomes the Federal Court decision and ruling on the Simon Munkara v Santos NA Barossa Pty Ltd case and says the outcome has positive ramifications for the Territory.

“This decision calls out environmental ‘lawfare,’ where environmental groups seek to stall and stop proponents from continuing developments,” he said

“We won’t allow activists and economic vandals to manipulate their way into halting or delaying key Territory projects with mistruths and false information.”

Minister Burgoyne says the Territory has a strong, contemporary environmental legislation that facilitates economic development and also withstands strong scrutiny through the court system.

“We will not be spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money on organisations such as the Environmental Defenders Office, who only seek to stop significant projects and limit the opportunities for the Territory.”

Santos expects the Barossa gas project and the associated Darwin LNG life extension project to create around 600 jobs throughout the construction phase and around 350 jobs during operations for the next 20 years of production at the Darwin LNG facility.

“It has been publicly reported that the NT Government estimates $2.5b worth of wages and contracts will flow to Territorians from the projects during that time,” Santos said in the statement yesterday.

Regis is hopeful its Federal Court process will be resolved by mid-2025.

The miner recently wrote down $192m after Minister Plibersek blocked the McPhillamys gold project, with chief executive Jim Beyer calling the project unviable in its current form.

Through the court process, Regis is seeking a declaration from the Federal Court of Australia that the Section 10 declaration is legally invalid, that the Section 10 application be redetermined by another Minister and that Regis is awarded all costs for legal proceedings.