A South Korean court has rejected an application from a group of indigenous Australians to block South Korean export credit agencies from funding a deep-water pipeline for the Santos-led (ASX:STO) Barossa gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off northern Australia.
The Seoul Central District Court on Friday dismissed the application to block loans to the project, reported Reuters, citing court records.
In March, traditional landowners in Australia’s Northern Territory launched legal action against Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and Korea Trade Insurance Corp (K-Sure) in an attempt to block funding for the $3.6 billion Barossa gas project, which will backfill the Darwin (LNG) export plant. South Korean energy company SK E&S is a major partner in the project.
The indigenous groups from the Tiwi Islands and Larrakia Traditional Owners had said they were not properly consulted on the Barossa development and planned 260 kms pipeline that will link offshore gas facilities to Darwin.
KEXIM and K-Sure are considering loans and loan guarantees that could be worth around $700 million, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s largest private gas provider SK E&S was also facing legal action from a climate activist group alleging that it falsely advertised the green credentials of the Santos-led Barossa LNG project in Australia, Energy Voice reported last December.
The Barossa project took a final investment decision in March 2021 and is progressing on schedule and budget for first LNG in the first half of 2025, Santos said late last year. The project comprises a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, subsea production wells, supporting subsea infrastructure and a gas export pipeline tied into the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin LNG pipeline.
The participants in the Barossa project are Santos (50% and operator), SK E&S (37.5%) and JERA (12.5%).
The participants in Darwin LNG are Santos (43.4% and operator), SK E&S (25% ), INPEX (11.4%), Eni (11%), JERA (6.1%) and Tokyo Gas (3.1%).