Santos gets nod for advisers despite queries over their independence

The Berejiklian government has defended its decision to approve the choice of advisers by Santos for its $3 billion Narrabri coal seam gas project, rejecting critics who say their industry links raised doubts about their independence.

As part of the approval conditions for its 850-well project in northern NSW, Santos was required to nominate at least two “independent experts from the scientific community” for its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Advisory Group. They put forward Andrew Garnett, director of University of Queensland’s Centre for Natural Gas, and Stuart Day, a CSIRO researcher.

Santos has picked a couple of advisers for a required greenhouse gas advisory panel that CSG opponents say fail to meet the required “independence” despite being approved by the NSW government.Credit:Brendan Esposito

The choice of the experts with close ties to the gas industry has raised concerns from opponents of the CSG gasfield, particularly after the NSW Environment Protection Authority dropped out of the group, citing a conflict of interest. A third person has been nominated by the Department of Planning.

Environmental group Lock the Gate Alliance said Santos’s nominees had deep ties to the gas industry, including working with bodies linked to the company itself, placing question marks over their independence.

Professor Garnett, a former executive with Shell and oil services company Schlumberger, is now director of the University of Queensland’s Centre for Natural Gas.

Formerly, the Centre for Coal Seam Gas, the body says on its website that its research is “made possible through funding and support of The University of Queensland and industry members, Arrow Energy, Santos and APLNG”.

Mr Day is a research team leader at CSIRO’s Energy Flagship, and has done work for the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance, itself partly funded by Santos.

Among Mr Day’s work, for instance, is research into emissions from the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, a region where Santos has gas interests.

Santos declined to comment on the two nominees, although in its statement to the Planning Department it said: “The EPA has advised that all nominees have suitable experience to be appointed to the [group]″⁣.

The Herald also sought comment from Professor Garnett and Mr Gay.

“We are shocked that the Department of Planning has approved Santos’ plans to stack the greenhouse advisory group for the Narrabri gasfield with scientists whose work is partly funded by the gas industry,” Georgina Woods, a spokeswoman for Lock the Gate Alliance, said.

Local Indigenous people are among those objecting to Santos’s Narrabri gas project.Credit:Brook Mitchell/Getty

“The scientists on this advisory group were supposed to be independent for good reasons. There were anomalies in the estimates Santos provided about the greenhouse and climate impact of this project during its assessment, and this group is charged with reviewing and monitoring Santos’ greenhouse emissions.”

A Planning Department spokeswoman said the EPA had advised that it had a conflict of interest as the lead regulator for the industry, and dropped out of the group.

However, “following consultation with the EPA, we were satisfied that the nominees had suitable experience and could provide independent expert advice”, the spokeswoman said.

The third member of the group is Yvonne Scorgie, an emissions expert with the Planning Department’s Energy, Environment and Science unit.

Liam Mannix’s Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week.

Peter Hannam writes on environment issues for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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