Santos and Narrabri Council have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the supply of coal seam gas. The Media Release from Santos is chock-a-block full of spin, codewords and obfuscations – we’ve decoded it in this series of graphics and asked some important questions.
At the time this agreement was signed, Santos was reeling from the takeover withdrawal of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and needed some positive spin to deliver whilst they hosted the Santos Festival of Rugby in Narrabri.
Just prior to this newest MOU with Narrabri Council, Santos also penned two other MOUs, one with Engie and one with Orica. Interestingly, Engie are looking to develop a solar farm at Narrabri called “Silverleaf” and appear to be in direct competition with Squadron Energy who are developing the Port Kembla LNG import terminal.
These MOUs aren’t set in stone, they rely on:
- Santos making a final investment decision on the project
- Successful negotiation of binding supply contracts
- Obtaining necessary internal and regulatory approvals
- Resolution of ongoing Native Title Tribunal processes and other court cases
- Pipeline construction
What happened to these older Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) already signed?
- Perdaman Ammonium Nitrate Project – Feb 2020
- Brickworks Brick Factory – May 2019
- Natural Soda – Jul 2020
Note the codewords:
- Non-binding = Unenforceable
- Natural gas = Dirty CSG
- Proposed agreement = PR Stunt
- Competitively-priced = We can’t tell you because we don’t know
Experts say Narrabri Gas will be expensive! https://ieefa.org/resources/narrabri-not-best-solution-eastern-australias-gas-supply
MOU’s = Pressure mechanisms
Strategic agreements which create a false sense of demand for a non-existent and potentially expensive product. Is Santos trying to protect their QLD GLNG assets from Domestic Gas Reservation? AEMO are currently looking at including all east coast gas projects in their consideration of export controls.
No pipelines, no project & no price
Santos are still in court with Gomeroi Traditional Owners and don’t have ANY pipelines. They repeatedly neglect to mention gas price. We are yet to see an EIS for the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline will which go through the guts of the Pilliga Forest. Santos can’t produce gas without pipelines!
Santos have not drilled a well near Narrabri for over a decade!
Santos state they produce enough electricity to power 32,000 homes but which homes are these and when will Narrabri see cheaper power?
We note that Narrabri Shire Council has put signing a crucial agreement for the installation of a community battery on the backburner, threatening the project. The 500-kWh battery system is to be installed in the old Narrabri Town Hall car park (adjacent to NSW Fire & Rescue and where NRMA’s EV chargers are) and there would be no costs to Council and the community battery will be owned and operated by Geni Energy.
Sacred work people. Thank you very much for what you do.