The Federal Court of Australia has granted an interim injunction to prevent Santos initiating laying operations for the Barossa field development gas export pipeline in the Timor Sea until Nov. 13.
ADELAIDE, Australia — The Federal Court of Australia has granted an interim injunction to prevent Santos initiating laying operations for the Barossa field development gas export pipeline (GEP) in the Timor Sea until Nov. 13.
It follows an application by Simon Munkara seeking an order for Santos to revise and re-submit the environment plan (EP) that was accepted by the regulator, NOPSEMA, in March 2020.
According to Santos, Munkara alleges that the GEP installation will impact submerged Tiwi cultural heritage and create an environmental risk. The company said an independent anthropologist interviewed about 170 Tiwi people and conducted extensive archaeological and anthropological studies, concluding that there were no underwater cultural heritage places. The studies included a geological and sedimentological assessment of the pipeline route. Santos said it updated the EP base on the anthropologist’s recommendations.
On Nov. 13, the court will sit again to determine whether the injunction should be extended until the final hearing.
For the time being the contracted pipelay vessel will remain in Darwin, and no pipelay activity linked to the GEP will take place.
