If the US miner is found to have mined too close to a large jarrah tree, it would trigger an automatic cancellation of its right to mine much of its lease.
ConocoPhilips developed the Bayu Undan project to send gas from the waters of Timor Leste (East Timor) to an LNG plant in Darwin. Santos bought out ConocoPhillips in 2020 and became the operator. Production ceased in 2025.
Australian LNG producers are under pressure on emissions and decommissioning, and Santos wants to tackle both problems in one swoop at Bayu Undan, but it needs everyone to play along.
Santos and ENI are looking for solutions for CO2 and removing old facilities in the waters north of Darwin. Time will tell if the problems are solved or just delayed.
