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Environment
Adelaide community to rally at Santos HQ over methane leak scandal
Conservation Council of SA
WHAT: Snap action demanding Santos fix long-running gas leak
WHEN: 8:30am, Wednesday 3 September 2025
WHERE: Santos Centre, 60 Flinders St, Adelaide SA 5000
South Australians will rally outside Santos headquarters tomorrow morning, demanding the gas giant take responsibility for a huge methane leak at its Darwin LNG facility that has gone unfixed for nearly two decades, posing a major threat to the safety of the Darwin community and Australia’s climate.
According to explosive documents obtained by the Environment Centre NT, Santos’s Darwin LNG hub has been leaking methane since 2006, fuelling accusations of a gas industry cover-up and widespread, systemic oversight by regulators.
Methane is highly explosive, posing catastrophic risks if ignited. Moreover, it’s over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at heating the planet, making it one of the most dangerous forces driving climate change.
Conservation SA, the state’s peak environment body, is joining the call for Santos to come clean and act immediately, and for the Labor Government to intervene to fix systemic regulatory failures that have allowed the leak to persist for 19 years.
Conservation SA is calling for:
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Santos to fix the leak immediately. The faulty tank poses a serious risk to the Darwin community and Australia’s climate. Without urgent action, the leak could continue for another 25 years unchecked.
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The Labor Government to step in, investigate failures by regulators including the Clean Energy Regulator, NOPSEMA and CSIRO, and legislate stronger rules requiring gas companies to measure, report, and repair leaks at the highest standards. This can never be allowed to occur again.
“It is shocking that our systems are set up so that multi-billion dollar gas giants like Santos can wreak havoc on our precious environment, with no consequences,” said Campaigns Coordinator at Conservation SA, Char Nitschke.
“Meanwhile the people of Darwin are left exposed to serious risks, while Santos continues to rake in billions in profit. This is not just a Northern Territory problem - it’s a national scandal and a disaster for our climate. South Australians stand in solidarity demanding action.
“Gas is a gamble, and we cannot be gambling with Australian lives.
“We demand an end to dangerous gas expansions."
The scandal adds to a long list of environmental harms associated with Santos, including gas seepage in Western Australia’s Pilbara, a 25,000-litre oil spill linked to dolphin deaths, and contamination of an aquifer with uranium in NSW.
PHOTO OPP / VISUALS: Community members will rally with a large banner reading: SANTOS, FIX THE GAS LEAK! and display colourful signs and placards.
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Media Contact:
Charlotte Nitschke
Campaigns Coordinator, Conservation Council of South Australia
Charlotte Nitschke
Campaigns Coordinator, Conservation Council of South Australia
0466 598 710