Consultation activities
Santos holds petroleum and greenhouse gas titles offshore Western Australia and Northern Territory to support current and future activities.
All petroleum and greenhouse gas activities must have an accepted Environment Plan (EP) by the respective Commonwealth, State or Territory Regulator before they can take place.
Santos is required to consult with relevant persons about those activities when preparing each EP. A relevant person includes a person or an organisation whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the proposed activity.
Feedback from relevant persons is used to refine or change measures proposed to manage activity impacts and risks to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable.
Consultation also helps us to identify environmental, social, economic and cultural values and sensitivities that may be affected, in addition to those identified by Santos based on our long-standing operating knowledge in the regions where we operate.
Upcoming activities – Bonaparte Basin
Upcoming activities – Carnarvon Basin
Santos’ consultation obligations
All petroleum or greenhouse gas activities in Commonwealth waters must have an EP accepted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) before any activities can take place.
To be accepted by NOPSEMA, an EP must meet the requirements set out in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009 (OPGGS Environment Regulations).
The OPGGS Environment Regulations set out that an EP must (among other things):
- comprehensively describe the activity to be carried out under the EP
- describe the environment that may be affected by the activity, including the values and sensitivities of that environment
- detail and evaluate the environmental impacts and risks for the relevant activity
- demonstrate that the impacts and risks of the activity will be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable and an acceptable level (and detail the control measures to be used to achieve this)
- demonstrate that Santos has consulted, in accordance with regulatory requirements, with each relevant person, including those whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the activities to be carried out under the EP demonstrate that the measures (if any) that Santos has adopted, or proposes to adopt, because of the consultations are appropriate.
Further information about the process for relevant person consultation under NOPSEMA jurisdiction can be found here.
All petroleum activities in Western Australian State waters must have an EP accepted by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) before any activities can take place.
To be accepted by DMIRS, an EP must meet the requirements set out in the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Environment) Regulations 2012 (State Environmental Regulations).
Under State Environmental Regulations, Santos is required to consult with relevant authorities, interested persons and organisations about proposed activities when preparing an EP whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the proposed activity.
More information about DMIRS’ process for acceptance of State EPs can be found here.
