Darwin, March 5, 2026, 15:47 (ACST)
- Scientists joined Indigenous custodians in calling on the Northern Territory to block Santos’ proposal for drilling and fracking 12 test wells at Tanumbirini Station.
- People quoted in local media say CSIRO’s research on Hot Springs Valley is expected in the second half of 2026.
- Santos maintains that risks remain low, pointing to its controls and water monitoring efforts as the regulator considers the environmental plan.
Water scientists and Indigenous custodians are calling on Northern Territory officials to block Santos Limited’s (STO.AX) proposed drilling and fracking of a dozen test shale gas wells at Tanumbirini Station, citing risks to a hot springs system that hasn’t been thoroughly studied.
Pushback comes as the territory reviews Santos’ environmental management plan—a crucial signoff needed before any onshore gas activity gets going. Santos has billed its Beetaloo project as a move toward sparking a shale gas surge and driving down energy costs and supply risks.
Fracking—short for hydraulic fracturing—uses high-pressure blasts of water, sand, and chemicals to crack rock and release trapped gas. Scientists from CSIRO told the ABC they’re analyzing Hot Springs Valley, with findings expected in the back half of 2026.
Jenny Davis, an environmental scientist from Charles Darwin University, pointed to “substantial knowledge gaps” in understanding the valley’s groundwater and pressed the regulator to classify the proposal as high risk.
Griffith University hydrologist Matthew Currell, in a December report on the appraisal pilot, flagged concerns that cracking the shale could boost connectivity between rock layers, potentially letting hydrocarbons migrate into aquifers. Those water-bearing underground layers may be linked to springs about 50 km to the north.
Santos is looking at two well pads, with as many as 12 wells to be drilled roughly 3 km down before shifting horizontally, according to the report. Each is expected to see about 60 frack stages. The project’s groundwater draw could hit 2.35 billion litres, and “flowback”—that’s the post-fracking wastewater—could reach tens of millions of litres for each well.
Indigenous rangers quoted by the ABC voiced concerns about potential harm to waterways, wildlife, and cultural sites—songlines connected to the Tanumbirini area among them.
Santos maintained that environmental risks are minimal, adding it plans to implement controls to stop aquifer cross-contamination and track water quality. However, according to the ABC, the company sidestepped direct questions on Hot Springs Valley and the fate of local waterways.
Under Northern Territory regulations, an environmental management plan must demonstrate that risks are controlled and cut down to a level considered “as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable” before it can get a minister’s sign-off. Lands and Planning Department
Santos shares space in the Beetaloo Sub-basin with U.S.-listed Tamboran Resources. Tamboran holds a 25% stake in EP161, while Santos runs the permit and controls the remaining 75%.
The Beetaloo gas fight is unfolding just as global LNG markets deal with supply shocks. “There is almost no scope for pushing out additional LNG volumes from Australia,” MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic said this week, noting that facilities are already maxed out. Reuters
Santos stock changed hands at A$7.32 on Thursday, after closing at A$7.25 the day before, Investing.com figures showed.
The timing remains up in the air. Should CSIRO’s research or new field data turn up firmer evidence tying fracked shale zones to aquifers that feed springs, the regulator might respond with tougher requirements or hold back approval, which would raise costs and put Santos’ Beetaloo ambitions on a longer track.
