The Federal Court of Australia has ruled in favor of Santos in a court case brought by Munkara against Santos NA Barossa Pty.
The court dismissed the application and discharged the injunction that had prevented offshore pipelay activities in the Timor Sea south of the kilometer 86 (KP86) point along the route of the Barossa gas export pipeline.
Santos can now resume in accordance with the environment plan. In December 2023, NOPSEMA, the Australian regulator, accepted Santos’ Barossa development drilling and completions environment plan.
The development will produce gas from the Barossa Field, 285 km north-northwest of Darwin, and deliver it though the main gas export pipeline and Darwin Pipeline Duplication system to the onshore Darwin LNG complex. First production is targeted for 2025.
Other main project infrastructure comprises an FPSO connected to a subsea production system and supporting in-field subsea infrastructure.
Santos plans to drill up to eight subsea wells: six wells from three drill centers, with contingency plans for an additional two wells.
Gas and condensate brought via the wells to the FPSO would undergo initial processing topsides to separate the natural gas, water and condensate. The dry natural gas would then head through the gas pipeline for processing at Darwin LNG, while the condensate would be offloaded from the FPSO to tankers for export.