DEVELOPING AUSTRALIAS GAS RESOURCES RESPONSIBLY David Knox, Managing Director and CEO Santos Ltd 28 October 2013 Citi Industry Funds Day Who Votes Your Shares Connecting Boards with Industry, Public Sector & Super Funds…
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to have been asked to speak to you today at this unique and innovative event that Citi has created. I say this because it is important that business leaders engage with their investors, but it is…
In this way I believe we are very much aligned. We are both interested in growing value for those we serve, and we both seek to do that over the long-term. Traditionally my discussion with investors, and my conversations around value…
So today, I would like to go beyond that traditional brief and address three key issues that are critical to delivering a sustainable future for Santos, and more broadly the long-term future of the gas industry here in Australia. These…
1. The importance of acting responsibly So, let me start with the importance of acting responsibly. There is no doubt in my mind that all CEOs and all companies want to do the right thing, the responsible thing and in doing so gain the…
Today my conversations with investors more and more often cover our potential impacts on the communities in which we operate both economic, environmental and social and importantly these discussions cover how we address those potential…
meet, but my personal view is that our industry must do more than just meet those expectations, we must work to provide enduring and positive value to the communities in which we operate. This is a view that I hold to, that drives me,…
have a positive reputation in the communities in which we operate, or have operated for some 20, 30 or 40 years. Rather than forcibly pushing out or imposing our own solutions, no matter how well intentioned they may be, this approach…
2. The principles of responsible operations This leads me to the second point of my discussion with you today that being the key principles that I believe are essential to responsible operations in our industry here in Australia.…
As you can see from this timeline, we are witnessing a transformation in Australias energy sector through the rapid growth in Australian LNG. For nearly 20 years, Australian LNG was essentially a one-horse race. Turning the clock forward…
And while CSG production in Australia is not entirely new it actually started in Queensland more than 15 years ago, a CSG to LNG project is of a much larger scale. Producing natural gas from coal seams at scale is an intensive…
Despite this, I am confident that our industry has the expertise to effectively deal with these challenges. But to ensure that we succeed there are five key principles that I believe if applied across all onshore oil and gas operations,…
They are: 1. Operating safely. From the design to the construction and operation of any facility, and through the preparation of a safety plan for each and every operation - the safety of employees, contractors and the local…
Planning is essential to good safety performance, but in an industry that is changing and changing rapidly, there are always new safety challenges that require vigilance, leadership and ongoing improvement. One area that I am…
2. Protecting the environment. In developing this countrys natural gas resources we must ensure that our operations are designed to minimise the impact on water, on emissions and on local ecology. The science tells us this is…
Santos GLNG Project in Queensland is a good example of how we have addressed the communitys concerns about the impact of a CSG project on ground water. The first thing we did is measure - we did this because in order to measure the…
collecting baseline data across hundreds of water bores across the projects tenements. This work was done to model the impact of our project and in essence it found that the drawdowns would be minimal and present no significant impact…
Ultimately, what this approach has led to is a greater understanding amongst the community of our approach to strict water management. But it has also led to the identification of opportunities. We are now working with communities and…
3. Treating people with respect. Ive mentioned the importance of engagement already, but it is critical that operators dont just pay lip service to this concept. Successful engagement requires the recognition that it is people that a…
every occasion, after sitting down and discussing things like where wed like to drill wells, where we would like to run pipelines and roads, the result is that we incorporate the feedback, develop a new plan and consult again. For…
4. Limiting our footprint. Our companies, and our projects have the opportunity to really be innovative and design and develop projects that act to challenge the status quo, and reduce the footprint we place on the environment and…
One example of this is the use of multi-pad directional drilling. Instead of drilling six, 12 or 20 wells in different locations, many kilometres apart, this technology allows us to drill multiple wells from one location and fan out in…
5. Making a positive difference to communities I mentioned this at the beginning of my discussion when I said that ultimately being responsible is not just about meeting the expectations of our communities, but it required working to…
community, that will remain once your operation has moved through the life of operations and beyond. One example of this comes from the central desert region of Australia where we have operated for 20 years producing oil that is…
While this isnt the biggest project, or the biggest employment numbers, what it shows is real, positive and sustainable change is possible, and innovation in this area can change the way a company operates. At Santos this innovative…
3. The opportunity for Australia Finally, let me turn to the third part of my discussion with you today, that of the opportunity available to Australia through the sustainable development of our natural gas resources. This…
This resource is also important to Australia. Natural gas is fundamental to Australias economic prosperity. Today, more than 5 million homes use natural gas. Natural gas supplies nearly half of the energy needs of the manufacturing and…
The challenge to ensure that the natural gas industry can deliver on its economic, environmental and social potential is not a lack of gas resources. Based on projected demand, Australia has more than 50 years of known gas reserves and…
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