Santos NSW

Monthly Activities Update

February 2025

Welcome to the February issue of our Monthly Activities Update for NSW.

Save the Date

The countdown to the 2025 Santos Festival of Rugby is on...

Santos is proud to announce its flagship regional sports event, the Santos Festival of Rugby, will return to Narrabri in 2025. 

Now in its fifth year, the Santos Festival of Rugby has grown to become one of the biggest annual sporting community events in regional Australia and has delivered millions of dollars in economic benefit to its two homes of Narrabri and Roma.  

This year, the two-day event will take place on the weekend of September 20-21, drawing some of the best male and female rugby union players from across Australia and the region.  

The festival will once again culminate in a battle of the state Super Rugby teams for the prestigious Santos Cup as the Queensland Reds take on the New South Wales Waratahs in home territory.

Narrabri Gas

Natural gas is an essential part of NSW’s energy mix, and its ongoing production is required to ensure safe, reliable and affordable energy well into the future. Santos has committed 100 per cent of gas from its Narrabri Gas Project to the domestic market. Once completed, the project is expected to supply up to half of the state’s natural gas needs, delivering energy security for the region and putting downward pressure on gas and electricity prices for households, manufacturers and businesses.

Update: Narrabri Gas Project

The Narrabri Gas Project (NGP) involves the development and production of natural gas near Narrabri and around the Pilliga. The initial stages of the project involved the development of appraisal wells which are already delivering gas to the Wilga Park Power Station.

The Wilga Park Power Station has an electricity generation capacity of 22 megawatts, enough to power 32,000 households across northwest NSW. Production this month has been steady.

If you would like more information about any of these activities, please contact our team via email at Energy.NSW@santos.com or give us a call on (02) 6790 9235. You can also visit the NGP website

Drilling activities

There are no drilling activities planned to be undertaken at this time.

Pilot wells

Bibblewindi East, Bibblewindi West and Dewhurst South, Tintsfield and Kahlua wells are online. A Flushby rig completed routine maintenance on existing wells in the project area this month.

Leewood

Santos does not need to irrigate at this time and water is stored in the holding ponds at Leewood.

Wilga Park Power Station

Wilga Park Power Station is online.

Other activities

Groundwater monitoring activities for Environmental Protection Licence compliance are ongoing. Santos is drilling a groundwater corehole to acquire data and undertake permeability testing. Works commenced in late February under Water Licence number 90BL256683.

PEL 1

Kahlua pilot construction works were completed in accordance with the Review of Environmental Factors and the wells are now online. To view the approval, please click here.

Hunter Gas Pipeline and Narrabri Lateral Pipeline Activities

Hunter Gas Pipeline

Santos is proposing to deliver natural gas from Narrabri to the east coast domestic market via two pipelines – the Hunter Gas Pipeline (HGP) and the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline (NLP).

Both the HGP and NLP are underground natural gas pipelines that will facilitate the transmission of gas from Narrabri to Hexham - a distance of approximately 400km. We’re currently working to finalise the pipeline’s exact location and are seeking feedback from landholders along the proposed route so that we can take into consideration their preferences, as well as potential technical constraints, environmental and cultural heritage considerations.  

As such, survey activities are continuing on both public and private land to finalise the alignment.

Our land access team continues to liaise with landholders along the route to progress discussions regarding the alignment, and to negotiate survey and deed of option agreements. We encourage landholders to engage with our land access advisors to ensure any feedback, questions or concerns can be addressed as part of the process to finalise the pipeline alignment. Landholders can contact our land access team at any time on 1300 427 546 or via email at info@huntergaspipeline.com.au.  

Construction of the two early works sites are now complete.

For more information, please visit the HGP website

Narrabri Lateral Pipeline

To connect the NGP to the HGP, Santos is progressing plans for the underground Narrabri Lateral Pipeline (NLP). The proposed pipeline will provide the ‘missing link’ between the NGP and HGP, to allow for the transmission of natural gas to the existing transmission network near Newcastle.

Santos is currently working to finalise the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the NLP project.

This month, Santos hosted Local Aboriginal Land Council board members for a tour of our current operations and the proposed NLP alignment. The tour offered a valuable opportunity to update members of the group about the proposed pipeline and related activities.

Image: Local Aboriginal Land Council board members tour Santos’ Narrabri operations and proposed NLP alignment.

On 7 February 2025, the Australian Government determined the NLP as a ‘controlled action’ requiring assessment and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. The project will be assessed under the bilateral agreement with the NSW government, with a single Environmental Impact Statement prepared for public comment addressing both Commonwealth and State matters. The NLP EPBC Referral (2024/10050) is available on the Commonwealth EPBC Public Portal or the HGP website.

On 7 February 2025, the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) extended the expiry of the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements to 9 December 2025.

Community Consultation

Community Consultation Sessions

Santos will host another round of community consultation sessions in March, offering landholders, stakeholders and community members the opportunity to discuss the Hunter Gas Pipeline, Narrabri Lateral Pipeline, or any other Santos activities in NSW. These sessions are an important part of our commitment to transparency and collaboration with the communities where we operate, and your feedback plays a vital role in shaping decisions and outcomes.

You don’t have to wait for a scheduled community information session to connect with us. Our project team is available by phone or email to discuss our work in your area - feel free to reach out, and we can arrange to meet at a time convenient to you. You can give us a call on (02) 6790 9235.

Community Consultative Committee and Advisory Groups

A condition of the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) consent for the NGP is the establishment and operation of a Community Consultative Committee (CCC) and Advisory Groups in accordance with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment Community Consultative Committee Guideline: State Significant Projects.

Mr. Garry West was appointed to the position of Independent Chair of the CCC and Advisory Groups. 

The purpose of a CCC is to provide a forum for discussion between a proponent and representatives of the community, stakeholder groups and local councils on issues directly relating to a specific state significant project.

The next meeting of the Narrabri Gas Project Community Consultative Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 18th March 2025. 

NGP CCC Minutes are available here

The Advisory Groups include:  

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Group 
Biodiversity Advisory Group 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Advisory Group 
Water Technical Advisory Group

Minutes from advisory group meetings are available here.

Community Partnerships

Countdown to Santos Festival of Rugby 2025

Image: Queensland Reds players running rugby drills with local teams during the announcement of the 2025 Santos Festival of Rugby.

Players from both the Queensland Reds and the New South Wales Waratahs helped kick off this year’s Santos Festival of Rugby in Narrabri, putting our local teams through their paces, earlier this month.

The festival is one of the biggest events of the year in Narrabri – not just for rugby fans - but also for businesses and local tourism. The two-day event injects around a million dollars into the local economy each year, providing a significant boost to the local region and beyond.

Local players from both junior and senior clubs got the chance to meet professional players from the Reds and Waratahs, who joined us for a community barbecue at Dangar Park, home of the Narrabri Blue Boars.

We are looking forward to planning another incredible event in September and hope to see you there!