A plan by fossil fuel company Santos to expand gas exploration in the Beetaloo basin has been criticised by environmentalists who fear it may mark the beginning of a fracking rush in the Northern Territory.
Santos has published plans to drill 12 fracking wells at Tanumbirini Station, a 5,000 sq km cattle station about 340km south-east of Katherine.
Dr Kirsty Howey, executive director of the Environment Centre NT, described the plan as “the biggest ever gas play in the Beetaloo for Santos”.
“This is a huge new proposal – one of the biggest we’ve ever seen,” she said.
In 2023, the NT government gave the green light for fracking – hydraulic fracturing for gas – in the Beetaloo to begin, after it was satisfied the recommendations of an independent inquiry had been met.
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Analysis by Climate Analytics in the same year estimated that fracking in the Beetaloo basin could lead to 1.2bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emitted over 25 years. Scientists have also warned that a planned massive expansion would have an unacceptable impact on the climate.
In a document published on its website, Santos said a drilling appraisal program was planned to start in 2026 to “determine whether the shale gas reservoir is commercially viable”, with up to 12 wells “to be constructed, operated and then decommissioned”.
“Even though it’s not full-scale production, it’s a really significant signalling of intent by Santos and the question is how far is it going to escalate now?” Howey said. “It’s the biggest company remaining in the Beetaloo.
“If fracking moves to full-scale production, over 6,000 wells could be drilled through our precious aquifers, polluting our groundwater with toxic chemicals.”
Ninety per cent of the territory’s water supply comes from groundwater, which the Environment Centre NT is concerned could be contaminated by chemicals used as part of the fracking process.
“Fracking undoubtedly poses a major risk to this huge, quite incredible aquifer that many Aboriginal communities and pastoralists rely on,” Howey said.
Methane bubbles have been observed at hot springs at Tanumbirini Station, suggesting connections between surface water and the shale gas layer to be targeted for fracking.
Howey called on Santos “to be a good corporate citizen” and refer the proposal to be assessed under federal environment laws.
“It’s going to impact new waterways and some sites which have only become known to western science in the last few years, including this hot springs complex,” she said. “Unbelievably there has never, ever been a referral of fracking in the Northern Territory … under the EPBC Act.”
A 2023 report commissioned by the ECNT found “critical data and knowledge gaps” that made it impossible to properly assess the risk of contamination and over-extraction of water due to fracking in the Beetaloo.
Prof Matthew Currell, a hydrogeologist at Griffith University and the lead author of that report, said incidents overseas showed there was a “big risk of contamination” of shallow water bodies and groundwater.
“We’ve already seen incidents of uncontrolled releases of wastewater from shale gas fracking sites in the Beetaloo from other operators,” he said. “If we’re talking about this being the first phase of a very significant increase in the size … of the shale gas industry, you really have to get the science right first before you start drilling.”
Santos was recently criticised over an LNG storage tank in Darwin, bought in 2020, which was in September revealed to have been leaking methane for years.
In New South Wales, the state’s peak body for farmers is exploring avenues for a legal challenge to Santos’s Narrabri gas project, while proposed pipelines in the Narrabri and Hunter regions are also facing significant community opposition.
Santos was contacted for comment.
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