S. Korea Court Dismisses Application Against Barossa Pipeline Funding

Sonali Paul
Monday, May 23, 2022

A South Korean court has dismissed an application from a group of Indigenous Australians to block South Korean export credit agencies from funding a deep-sea gas pipeline for the $3.6 billion Barossa gas project off northern Australia.

People from the Tiwi Islands and Larrakia Traditional Owners in March sought an injunction from the Seoul Central District Court to block Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and Korea Trade Insurance Corp (K-Sure) from providing loans for the Barossa pipeline. Read More.

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday dismissed the application to block loans to the project, the court's record showed.

"We are disappointed in yet another timid decision by the South Korean court around environmental cases. The South Korean court has historically been very timid about environmental cases and cross-border issues. The ball is now in the court of Australian regulatory bodies," said Ha Jiyeon, a Seoul-based lawyer with a climate group familiar with the case.

"We plan to review various factors such as necessity of LNG imports as well as environmental factors to support the project," KEXIM told Reuters.

K-Sure was not immediately available for comment.

The indigenous groups had said they were not properly consulted on the Barossa project and the planned 260-kilometre (162-mile) pipeline that will connect offshore gas facilities to an existing pipeline that runs to Darwin.

KEXIM and K-Sure are considering loans and loan guarantees that could be worth around $700 million.

Australia's Santos Ltd STO.AX, operator of the Barossa development, due to produce first gas in 2025, declined to comment on the case. Partners in the project include private South Korean energy company SK E&S.

(Reuters - Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne, Heekyong Yang and Byungwook Kim in SeoulEditing by Bernadette Baum and Mark Potter)


Categories: Energy Pipelines Industry News Activity Production Asia Floating Production Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Petronas-Eni Upstream Joint Venture to Take Up to Two Years to Set Up

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Testing Capabilities in Indonesia

BP Expands Oil and Gas Scope in Azerbaijan with New Projects and Exploration Rights

Indonesia's Medco Starts Production at Natuna Sea Fields

Petrovietnam, Petronas Extend PSC for Offshore Block

Fire at Petronas Gas Pipeline in Malaysia Sends 63 to Hospital

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

All Gas from Conrad’s Mako Field to be Sold to Indonesia’s PLN

Shell Launches Next Phase of Malaysia's Deepwater Project with First Oil Production

Valeura Wraps Up Infill Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

Current News

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

MODEC and Terra Drone Renew FPSO Drone Inspection Partnership

Yinson Production Closes $1B Investment to Drive Further Growth

Petronas-Eni Upstream Joint Venture to Take Up to Two Years to Set Up

Wood JV Gets EPC Job for Shell off Brunei

Chuditch Gas Field Drilling Ops Get Delayed to Next Year

French Oil Major Acquires Interests in Multiple Blocks in Southeast Asia

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com