Business · Energy & Commodities · 4 hrs ago
Regulator raises concerns over Santos's fuel use and flaring at Barossa
Australia's offshore regulator warned Santos about fuel use and gas flaring at its Barossa gas project.
The regulator said inspectors found problems at a gas storage facility on Darwin Harbour in March, then found they remained at the offshore facility about 300 kilometres north of Darwin.
NOPSEMA said Santos had not adequately managed fuel and flare performance, and both were above estimates in its environment plan for the commissioning phase.
Santos says it received no notice of non-compliance and says it is committed to reducing environmental impacts.
The dispute matters because the project's emissions and pollution may be higher than forecast, and Barossa is already described as emissions-intensive.
NOPSEMA asked Santos to explain its fixes, review its environment plan and track performance, and said another inspection was planned for the third quarter of 2026; it did not confirm whether that inspection had taken place.
Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulator raised concerns about Santos’s fuel use and flaring at the Barossa gas project.
NOPSEMA said inspections found Santos had not adequately managed fuel and flare performance in line with its environment plan.
It said the issues remained after a later inspection and described the situation as continued non-compliance.
Santos said it had faced no enforcement action or notice of non-compliance over Barossa fuel and flare obligations.
The regulator asked Santos to detail corrective steps, review its environment plan and track performance.
- Who
- NOPSEMA and Santos. The regulator raised concerns about the company’s fuel use and flaring.
- What
- NOPSEMA said Santos had not adequately managed fuel and flare performance under its environment plan. Santos said it had received no enforcement action or notice of non-compliance on these obligations.
- When
- The onshore facility was inspected in March; a later offshore inspection found the issues remained. The article was published on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- At Santos’s gas storage facility on Darwin Harbour and its offshore Barossa facility in the Timor Sea, about 300 kilometres north of Darwin.
- Why
- Inspectors said fuel use and flaring were above environment plan estimates for the hook-up and commissioning phase, and that relevant issues had not been addressed.
NOPSEMA
Santos
Compliance findings
NOPSEMA
NOPSEMA said inspections found Santos was not adequately managing fuel and flare performance and that issues remained after a later inspection.
Santos
Santos said it had faced no enforcement action and received no notice of non-compliance over Barossa fuel and flare obligations, including reporting requirements.
Project obligations
NOPSEMA
NOPSEMA asked Santos to explain steps taken to fix the issues, review its environment plan and develop a way to track performance.
Santos
Santos said it was committed to minimising environmental impacts.
NOPSEMA inspected Santos’s onshore gas storage facility on Darwin Harbour.
NOPSEMA issued Santos a warning about fuel management and flaring.
Inspectors at the offshore Barossa facility said the issues had not been addressed.
NOPSEMA said another inspection was planned; the article did not confirm whether it took place.
- Regulator
- National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA)
- Onshore facility
- Santos gas storage facility on Darwin Harbour
- Offshore facility
- Barossa, in the Timor Sea about 300 kilometres north of Darwin
- Fuel and flaring
- Above environment plan estimates for the hook-up and commissioning phase
- Planned inspection
- Third quarter of 2026
What people are saying
This exhibition of continued non-compliance, several months after the issues were initially raised, is of concern to NOPSEMA
Both fuel use and flaring were above the estimates outlined in the plan for the hook-up and commissioning phase.
has not faced any enforcement action from NOPSEMA in respect of the Barossa Project nor has it received any notice of non-compliance in relation to any fuel and flare obligations, including reporting requirements, in the environment plan
Rather than disclosing this information and creating a new environment plan, Santos has continued business as usual and ignored repeated warnings from the offshore regulator