Moomba explosions, South Australia On 1 January 2004 an explosion occurred at Santos' Moomba processing facility. The blast was traced to the Liquids Recovery Plant (LRP), where an inlet manifold and a related flange weld both failed after corrosion by mercury. Mercury was released along with a cloud of flammable gases including methane, ethane, propane and butane. Workers saw the cloud and raised the alarm, shutting down the plant and evacuating to designated safety points. Some workers allegedly did not hear the emergency alarms. The gas cloud ignited on contact with a heating unit 150 metres away, and an explosion followed. The plant was seriously damaged. Santos had stated in June 2006 that it maintained "appropriate insurance coverage for these types of occurrences".
Port Bonython groundwater contamination, South Australia facility and hydrocarbon export jetty, South Australia|330x330px In May 2008, groundwater contamination was reported to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) following detection at Santos' Port Bonython site,
Spencer Gulf, South Australia. Hydrocarbons were found floating on and in the groundwater. One hundred and fifty inspection wells were later established, and a cement
bentonite wall was constructed 'to stop the further spread of contamination off-site' including to the marine environment. In May 2012, Santos reported declining rates of hydrocarbon recovery from groundwater extraction wells and claimed that their remediation efforts were working.
Pilliga CSG wastewater spill, New South Wales In 2011, a 10,000-litre spill of untreated coal seam gas water occurred impacting native vegetation and soil in the Pilliga forest. Coal seam gas extraction produces water that can contain lead, mercury, various salts and other heavy metals. Rehabilitation has been trying to restore this site to remediate elevated contamination in the soil.
Jackson oil spill, Queensland In May 2013, an uncontrolled
oil spill was reported in Santos' Zeus field near
Jackson in Queensland's remote south-west. The flow lasted 'almost a week' before international experts were able to contain it. The rate of flow was estimated at 50,000 litres per day.
Uranium contamination of Narrabri aquifers, New South Wales In 2013, groundwater monitoring detected elevated levels of salinity and heavy metals near Santos' Tintsfield ponds in the Pilliga forest. Also it was reported that at the Bibblewindi ponds, uranium 20 times above the safe drinking levels was detected. A NSW Government investigation into the incident determined the leak was "small, localised and contained" and drinking water sources and stock and domestic water sources were not impacted nor were they at risk. The Investigation also found that the uranium detected was not from the pond's water, but was from naturally occurring Uranium in the surrounding soil that was mobilised from the leaking pond.
Climate activism In March 2021, four
Extinction Rebellion protesters glued themselves to the road outside the Santos building in Adelaide, and two scaled the building, painted messages on it, set off flares and glued themselves to the building. Police and firefighters had to remove them and the protesters, who included three women aged over 64, were charged. They were protesting against
fracking, and called upon Santos to invest more in
renewable energy. Tiwi Islanders won a landmark case in September 2022, against drilling for gas by Santos in their traditional waters after complaining that the company failed to consult them about the impact of the project. Judge Mordecai Bromberg set aside approval for the drilling, part of Santos's $4.7bn Barossa project and gave Santos two weeks to shut down and remove its rig from the sea north of Melville Island. The Judge said the offshore oil and gas regulator Nopsema failed to assess whether Santos had consulted with everyone affected by the proposed drilling, as required by the law. In 2024 Santos was granted permission to resume laying an underwater pipeline for the Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea, north of Darwin, after winning a legal battle against a group of Tiwi Islands elders. The case founded on the traditional accounts of the Ampiji and the Crocodile Man was characterised by a significant degree of divergence among relevant Tiwi Islanders about the content of those Dreaming or songlines. Justice Charlesworth also said she was not satisfied by claims the pipeline might damage potential cultural heritage sites along the sea floor. The evidence established nothing more than a negligible chance that there may be objects of archaeological value in the area of the pipeline route.
Pipeline explosions In January 2023, a gas pipeline exploded due to material fatigue. A similar event occurred in 2020. Both events were reported to the Government of South Australia, but neither was made public until they were discussed at the company's 2023 AGM and subsequently reported on by ABC news. ==Sponsorship==