2025: A year in review

Image: Santos spent more than $8.5 million with local businesses in 2025

As the year draws to a close and many of you are preparing for a well-earned break, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the progress Santos has made with our New South Wales operations over the past 12 months, and to thank those who have continued to support our efforts to produce and supply gas to the east coast domestic market.

Looking back at our challenges and achievements, I would describe 2025 as a year of strong progress – one where our teams continued working behind the scenes to advance the multi-faceted approvals needed to bring the Narrabri Gas Project (NGP), Narrabri Lateral Pipeline (NLP) and Hunter Gas Pipeline (HGP) projects to life.

On this front, perhaps our most important milestone this year was the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement for the NLP – a huge body of work which has been on public display for most of this month. We also signed three Memorandums of Understanding for future gas supply and generated more than 133,140 megawatt hours at the Wilga Park Power Station so far this year.

Santos also remained an important contributor to the local economy in 2025. We invested more than $8.5 million across the Narrabri and Gunnedah regions this year, engaging local businesses for a range of goods and services including earthmoving, freight, catering, cleaning, printing, advertising, accommodation and fleet maintenance.  

Perhaps one of the biggest community highlights of 2025 was the Santos Festival of Rugby, which also injected more than $2 million directly into the local economy.  It’s been rewarding to hear the feedback coming from residents, visitors and local businesses alike about this much-loved event - it always takes such a huge effort to host but your support makes it all worthwhile.

Staying in the community space, our local team continued to engage and support a range of organisations throughout the year, providing financial and in-kind support to 80 community groups and sporting clubs.  We also actively engaged with thousands of landholders and other stakeholders through consultative committee meetings, site tours, information sessions, shop front visits and events.  I would like to thank those who constructively engaged with us and made genuine efforts to learn more about our operations - we truly value your input.

On that note, I hope you can enjoy some valuable downtime over the festive season as you recharge and prepare for whatever the new year may bring.  On behalf of Santos and the Narrabri team, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to engaging with you again in 2026.

Andrew Snars - Santos NSW Manager Community  

Natural gas plays a vital role in our local energy mix, helping to generate the electricity that powers our homes, businesses and everyday lives. It is also crucial feedstock in industrial processes for making products like textiles, plastics and fertilisers. It will continue to be a key component in the state’s transition to a cleaner energy future, producing approximately half the emissions of coal when used for power generation.

The growth of renewable energy sources like solar and wind means that maintaining a stable and reliable power grid is increasingly important. Gas-fired generators offer critical support by quickly ramping up during periods of high demand or when renewable sources are unable to meet energy needs – such as when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Natural gas provides the flexibility and reliability essential to ensure a smooth transition to a more sustainable energy system.

More than 1.5 million households and 50,000 small businesses in NSW are connected to gas networks, and about one-third of small customers use gas to meet part of their energy needs. Despite having significant undeveloped gas resources, NSW imports 100 per cent of its gas from interstate.

The NGP involves the development and production of natural gas near Narrabri. The project represents a significant step forward in securing New South Wales’ energy future and Santos has committed 100 per cent of this gas to the domestic market, with the potential to supply up to half of the state’s natural gas needs. With gas shortfalls predicted, the NGP offers an opportunity for NSW to harness its own energy resources, delivering energy security for the region and putting downward pressure on gas and electricity prices.

If you would like more information about this project, 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. 

Santos is proposing to deliver natural gas from Narrabri to the east coast domestic market via two new underground pipelines – the Hunter Gas Pipeline and the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline. Survey activities are currently underway on private and public land as Santos works to confirm the pipeline route. Learn more about these projects on our website.

​Land access negotiations continue

Our Land Access team continue to liaise with landholders located along the Hunter Gas Pipeline alignment to discuss the proposed route and negotiate voluntary survey and deed of option agreements.  As we work to finalise the pipeline alignment, Santos encourages all relevant landholders to speak with our team.  We will consider all feedback to ensure, where possible, we deliver the best outcome for each landholder and their property.

Santos will fairly compensate landholders identified to host the Hunter Gas or Narrabri Lateral pipelines and will also provide $30,000 (ex GST) for these landholders to obtain their own independent professional advice, including legal and valuation services, to help support the Deed of Option for Easement negotiation process.  This amount is obligation free and the landholder will have control over the use of the funds. We encourage landholders to contact our Land Access team to find out more. 

​Working with Santos: A landholder perspective

Meet Malcolm – a horse and cattle breeder from Wingen in the Upper Hunter region, and one of many landholders who have signed a voluntary agreement with Santos for the Hunter Gas Pipeline to pass through their properties. In this video, Malcolm describes his experience working with Santos.

Environmental Impact Statement Community Drop-in Sessions

Image: The EIS drop-in session at Baan Baa

A series of community drop-in sessions were held across the region in early December, to provide information on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline.

Interested residents and landholders met with our community, land access and environmental teams at sessions in Baan Baa, Boggabri, Gunnedah and Narrabri – with the team answering a range of queries relating to potential groundwater and habitat impacts, firefighting access, traffic management and property access.

The public exhibition period for the EIS closed on December 18. Santos will provide a response to submissions made during this period to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure before the application proceeds to final assessment.

If you were unable to attend our drop-in sessions but would like further information, please give us a call on 02 6792 9035 or drop into our shopfront at 125 Maitland Street in Narrabri.

Image: The EIS is available to view on the NSW Major Projects portal

Community Consultative Committee and Advisory Groups

The most recent Narrabri Gas Project Community Consultative Committee meeting was held on Tuesday 9 December 2025. Minutes from previous CCC meetings are available here.

The Advisory Group meetings for Aboriginal and Cultural Heritage, Biodiversity, Greenhouse Gas and Water were also held on Tuesday 9 December and Wednesday 10 December 2025. Previous minutes from the Advisory Group meetings can be accessed here.