The Federal Court of Australia has reportedly ordered the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) to pay Santos A$9.042m ($5.87m) for legal costs following an unsuccessful challenge to the Barossa gas project, reported Upstream.
The dispute delayed the installation of a 262km subsea pipeline from the Barossa field to the Bayu-Undan pipeline.
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The legal challenge, initiated on 30 October 2023, was led by the EDO on behalf of three Tiwi Islanders.
It aimed to prevent Santos from constructing the pipeline, citing potential disturbances to cultural sites.
According to the report, the EDO alleged that the pipeline might affect the travels of Ampiji, a rainbow serpent, and the Crocodile Man, an ancestral being.
Experts including associate professor in climate geoscience Mick O’Leary from the University of Western Australia, provided evidence supporting the EDO’s claims.
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By GlobalDataHowever, the Federal Court dismissed the case in January, allowing the pipeline to proceed. The court found that the indigenous instructions were distorted in O’Leary’s report and part of the case was constructed.
Justice Natalie Charlesworth in her judgment said: “I have concluded that the cultural mapping exercise and the related opinions expressed about it are so lacking in integrity that no weight can be placed on them.
“My conclusions about O’Leary’s lack of regard for the truth, lack of independence and lack of scientific rigour are sufficient to discount or dismiss all of his reports for all purposes.”
The court identified the EDO as an active participant in the Stop Barossa Gas campaign.
The EDO had requested NOPSEMA to halt the pipeline installation and resubmit the Environment Plan.
NOPSEMA directed Santos to conduct an independent cultural heritage assessment, which found no heritage sites along the pipeline route. Despite this, the EDO had proceeded with the legal challenge.
EDO chief executive David Morris said: “After careful consultation with our insurer and with deep consideration of the best interests of our clients, staff and the organisation, EDO has agreed to resolve the claim,” said the report.
Santos highlighted that the Barossa gas project and the Darwin LNG (liquefied natural gas) extension would create approximately 600 construction jobs and secure around 350 jobs for 20 years at the Darwin LNG facility.
The Northern Territory government estimates A$2.5bn in wages and contracts will benefit Territorians from these projects.
