Santos has entered into a set of principles in NSW that recognises the company’s long-standing position that it will not undertake drilling activities on private land without the voluntary consent of the landholder.
The Principles of Land Access was signed by Santos, AGL, NSW Farmers, Cotton Australia and the NSW Irrigators Council at NSW Parliament House.
Santos is currently seeking development of the Narrabri Gas Project (NGP) to help unlock the State’s abundant natural gas resources, which could supply up to 50% of NSW’s natural gas requirements from 2017 when the supply is needed most.
Santos’ NSW General Manager, Peter Mitchley, said the company has always respected the views of landholders’ regarding drilling operations on private property. He said that the announcement gives confidence to all parties that Santos will only look to progress this project in a manner that is both safe and sustainable, and respectful of landholder rights.
“It has long been Santos’ position that we will not undertake drilling activities on private land without the landholder’s consent and we’ve been very clear about that publicly. This agreement further recognises that position,” Mr Mitchley said.
“Santos has been working hard to put in place agreements that ensure mutually beneficial partnerships with landholders who choose to work with us. In NSW, we already have more than 40 land access agreements. It is important that all members of the community also respect the rights of landowners to work with industry and have us on their land”.
“This is a clear signal from industry that it respects the views of landholders – and we expect that same respect will be shown to those landholders who choose to host our activities” he said.
The Principles of Land Access will give the community further confidence that Santos seeks respectful, long-term relationships with landholders, as we seek to move forward with plans for our Narrabri Gas Project.
Agreed principles of land access
All parties to this document have agreed the following principles:
1. Any Landholder must be allowed to freely express their views on the type of Operations that should or should not take place on their land without criticism, pressure, harassment or intimidation. A Landholder is at liberty to say “yes” or “no” to the conduct of Operations on their land;
2. Gas companies confirm that they will respect the Landholder’s wishes and not enter onto a Landholder’s property to conduct Operations where that Landholder has clearly expressed the view that Operations on their property would be unwelcome: and
3. The Parties will uphold the Landholder’s decision to allow access for Operations and do not support attempts by third party groups to interfere with any agreed Operations. The Parties condemn bullying, harassment and intimidation by third party groups and individuals in relation to the agreed Operations.
