PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Santos has rejected allegations of human rights breaches, following allegations of such at its Barossa gas project, its Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) life extension project, and at its Narrabri gas project.
The ASX-listed company this week said that some of its investors and financiers had received letters from Equity Generation Lawyers, on behalf of up to nine individuals, accusing the company of breaches of the human rights of Tiwi Island, Larrakia and Gomeroi people, and urging investors to exercise leverage in stopping Santos’ development of these three projects.
Financiers, in turn, have been urged to exit loans and not proceed with any future approvals for these three projects.
Santos said in a statement that the claimants had not sought to have the grievances determined or remedied in a court of competent jurisdiction where the company could properly respond.
“Santos has a long history of positive Indigenous engagement and cultural heritage management. Our operations have co-existed with farmers, fishermen, Traditional Owners and other land users for decades. Santos has over 90 agreements in place across Australia that relate to native title, Aboriginal land rights and cultural heritage management, involving six Aboriginal Land Councils and 23 Traditional Owner groups,” the company said in a statement.
The company added that it is engaged in lawful regulatory processes for the Barossa, Darwin LNG Life Extension and Narrabri projects, involving consultation with Indigenous people and other stakeholders, including consideration of their feedback in finalising various project plans.