Who's behind Barossa?

The companies behind the project

As the world turns to renewable energy in an effort to stop the effects of climate change from growing worse, corporations are trying to lock in the Barossa project to squeeze out the last drops of profit for their dirty gas. They do this at the expense of Tiwi and Larrakia Traditional Owners, local marine life and industries, and our warming planet – as well as all its inhabitants.

Santos

Santos is leading the Barossa project and owns 50% of it. The fossil fuel giant has come under increasing pressure. Last year, the company lost a court case for failing to engage stakeholders properly about fracking, were sued for greenwashing and faced community protests on Larrakia Country (Darwin) and in capital cities across the country.

SK E&S

SK E&S is a South Korean energy company and owns 37.5% of Barossa. The company’s ties to the project don’t stack up with its self-proclaimed green profile and tagline as a ‘Clean Energy & Solution Provider.’ It recently faced a legal challenge in South Korea for greenwashing, having claimed that liquefied natural gas from the Barossa project will be “CO2-free”.(1)

JERA

JERA is a Japanese energy giant and owns 12.5% of Barossa. It is the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas.

Despite describing itself as an ‘eco-friendly energy company,’ SK E&S has teamed up with Santos to make the dirty Barossa project a reality. Tell them to cut all ties with the Barossa project today:

1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-22/gas-giant-in-korea-accused-by-activists-of-greenwash-advertising

Public money is propping up Barossa

The Barossa project is partly made possible through the support of public financing banks called export credit agencies (ECAs). Since 2018, one Japanese and two South Korean ECAs have backed the project financially, and one of them is considering giving further support.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

JBIC signed a loan agreement with JERA for AUD$479 million (USD$346 million) in December, last year. The loan is meant to fund JERA’s partial buy of Barossa and the development of the gas field.

Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)

KEXIM has supported the project through two loans in 2017 and 2018 totalling AUD$262 million (USD$196 million). They are currently considering providing a further AUD$400 million (USD$300 million).

Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure)

At the end of last year, K-Sure decided to back the Barossa project with AUD$551 million (USD$400 million).

In May 2021, Stop Barossa Gas organised an action outside of the Korean embassy in Australia, asking South Korea to cut all ties with the Barossa project. The action was supported by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC).

“It’s no surprise that a project like Barossa needs more Korean taxpayer money, because it doesn’t stack up on its own. But South Koreans don’t want Santos’ dirty gas, and the South Korean government shouldn’t be funelling our taxpayer money into this project..”