Santos fined just $10,000 for WA oil spill despite 'devastating' impact on Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people

The penalty follows a spill in March 2022 at the company's Varunus Island Gas Plant, where approximately 25,000 litres of oil were released into the Indian Ocean.

Oil and gas giant Santos has pleaded guilty and been fined just $10,000 for a significant oil spill off the coast of Western Australia.

The incident occurred in March 2022 at Santos’s Varunus Island Gas Plant, located off the coast of Karratha which holds significant cultural importance for Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people.

The penalty follows a spill in March 2022 at the company’s Varunus Island Gas Plant, where approximately 25,000 litres of oil were released into the Indian Ocean.

In addition to the fine, Santos was ordered to pay $9,700 dollars in court costs.

Dead dolphins, including a pup, were found floating within the spill.

For a multi-billion-dollar corporation, however, the fine has been widely criticised as insufficient.

The oil spill, which occurred off the Pilbara coastline, had devastating impacts on the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people, for whom the land holds significant cultural importance, and also local marine life, with dead dolphins and other sea creatures found in the affected area.

Allegations of a cover-up by the company were raised by an anonymous whistleblower and tabled in Federal Parliament in 2023.

According to Western Australian government regulators, dolphins were discovered dead just 200 metres from the slick, 17 hours after the spill occurred.

For many, the fine seems like little more than a token penalty.

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that Santos paid no company income tax from 2015 to 2023, despite declaring $38 billion dollars in income.

The minimal fine for such a significant environmental breach has raised concerns about the effectiveness of Australia’s environmental regulations.