A914528 - NOPSEMA internal Briefing Note on the Santos Barossa Gas Export Pipeline Installation dated 20 February 2023

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 10 Jul 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

NOPSEMA issued General Direction 1898 to Santos NA Barossa Pty Ltd and related entities on 13 January 2023 requiring assessment of potential underwater cultural heritage impacts from the Barossa Gas Export Pipeline Installation. The direction mandates updating the Environment Plan with identified impacts and risk mitigation measures to acceptable levels. While the Environment Plan remains in force and work is technically permitted, NOPSEMA expects Santos to comply with its written undertaking to defer pipeline construction until the management of change process is completed. Santos has deferred construction activities and initiated an underwater survey on 22 February 2023 to assess cultural heritage. On 15 February 2023, Santos requested confirmation regarding conducting pipeline installation outside the original timetable specified in the Environment Plan. NOPSEMA indicated it was preparing a response after reviewing the request against regulations and guidelines. The regulator committed to monitoring weekly progress reports and considering further environmental inspection if warranted.