An anonymous whistleblower has accused Santos of covering up the extent of an oil spill they believe led to the death of dolphins off the Western Australian coast.
The claims were made by a worker employed by Santos at the time of the dolphin death incident and were tabled by independent Senator David Pocock in Parliament last week.
In their statement, the whistleblower said they had witnessed an incident – and subsequent cover-up – which forced them to confront questions about organisational values and their own responsibility as an employee.
The incident centred around a torn subsea hose which was left unidentified for more than six hours, pouring a reported 25,000 litres of condensate (a light form of oil) into the ocean.
It occurred in March last year near the Lowendal Islands, about 300 kilometres off the coast of Karratha.
The whistleblower’s statement said: “Regardless of efforts to cease the spill, the mood on the island became sombre when learning that dead dolphines, including a pup, were found floating in the centre of the spill; in other areas, sea snakes writhed in agony.
“A month after the spill I was intrigued when news of the incident surfaced with no mention of impact on local wildlife.
“I was then shocked at the public comment from Santos: ‘the event had negligible harm to the environment’.”
Richard George, Senior Campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the allegations, if true, revealed shocking disregard for marine wildlife.
George said: “These allegations suggest that Santos is more concerned with covering its tracks than accepting accountability for a devastating oil spill at Varanus Island.
“There must be a full investigation into these claims, to determine how tens of thousands of litres of Santos’s oil spilled into the oceans, whether any dolphins died as a result and if Santos tried to cover it up.
“Gas and oil companies can’t be trusted with our oceans.
“Just a few weeks ago it was revealed that gas company Woodside is allowing an oil tower full of toxic chemicals to sink near UNESCO-listed Ningaloo Reef.
“This new claim that Santos has lied about its role in killing dolphins is another damning blow for the gas industry.
“The gas industry is trying to push through a number of vast new offshore gas drilling projects, including Woodside’s Burrup Hub.
“It’s crucial that the public knows about the devastating impact offshore gas and oil drilling has on our oceans.”
Santos has yet to make a public statement on the issue.
