DBS among international banks to get human rights complaints over loan to gas company
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DBS is among the largest lenders, with a US$60 million loan to Santos.
PHOTO: BT FILE
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SINGAPORE – A group of indigenous Australians filed human rights complaints against Singapore’s DBS Bank and 11 other international banks on Tuesday over a US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) loan to a company building a controversial gas project that they say threatens their traditional lands and sea, as well as the future of their culture.
The multibillion-dollar Barossa gas project, being built by Australian energy firm Santos in the Northern Territory, has been repeatedly delayed by legal action from indigenous groups accusing the company of failing to properly consult them, and the risk of environmental damage.
Environmental groups have also criticised the project, saying it will fuel climate change by releasing huge amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
The Barossa project is about 285km north of Darwin in the Timor Sea and involves drilling deep wells to access the gas. Santos plans to build a pipeline that will run within 7km of the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin. The gas is meant to supply a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant near the city.
Six Tiwi Islands traditional owners and a Larrakia traditional owner filed the complaints with the assistance of Equity Generation Lawyers, an Australian law firm.
The complainants say the Barossa project breaches their human rights
Besides DBS, the other banks to receive complaints are ANZ, NAB, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia; ING of the Netherlands; DNB of Norway; Citigroup; Royal Bank of Canada; and MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho of Japan.
Export credit agencies Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) and Korea Trade Insurance Corp (K-Sure) of South Korea and Japan Bank for International Cooperation were also served.
DBS is among the largest lenders, with a US$60 million loan to Santos.
Singapore’s UOB also participated with a US$50 million loan to the company, documents show, but is among a group of lenders not served a complaint.
A total of 23 banks were involved in the US$1 billion loan agreed in 2022, which runs until 2028. “We are considering sending more grievances in due course,” Ms Vidhya Karnamadakala, an associate at Equity Generation Lawyers, told The Straits Times.
“Our complaints describe how the Barossa project would breach international human rights law. The banks have committed to these standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, so we are asking them to abide by their own policies and meet these international standards,” she added.
The Barossa project would adversely impact the economic, social and cultural rights of Tiwi and Larrakia traditional owners, she said.
“It not only destroys their cultural and spiritual connections to sacred sea country, it threatens traditional activities such as fishing and hunting. The risk of oil spills, pipeline ruptures and vessel collisions will be catastrophic for the physical, spiritual and mental health of the communities,” she added.
Statements from each of the seven traditional owners are included in the complaint sent to DBS.
“We are educating these banks to look at this from our perception – it’s a good thing. They need that and they need to listen to us, the real people,” said complainant Pirrawayingi (Marius) Puruntatameri.
Said another complainant, Ms Therese Wokai Bourke: “Banks are enabling Santos to continue doing what they are doing without any care about our human rights and what they’re doing to the environment we live in. They don’t live here, we do. We have a right to protect and maintain our environment, our ancient cultural and spiritual practices and beliefs.”
In response to questions from ST about the loan to Santos, a DBS spokesman said: “We would like to clarify that DBS is not providing direct project financing to the Barossa project.
“We have not been approached to finance the development of the Barossa field. If we were to be approached, we would assess this as per our existing Group Responsible Financing Standards, which include our approach to human rights in line with the Equator Principles, while also taking into account our net-zero commitments.”
The Equator Principles are a financial industry benchmark for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risks in projects.
The complaint sent to DBS also mentions a bridging loan for Santos that was refinanced in October 2020 by a syndicated loan for US$750 million. DBS was among the participating banks listed.
A UOB spokesman said: “UOB does not have direct exposure to this project, and we commit to no new project financing for upstream oil and gas projects approved for development after 2022.”
The loan was approved when Santos was in the midst of legal action by the Tiwi islanders. In December 2022, the Federal Court of Australia confirmed that the company failed to adequately consult traditional owners in establishing the Barossa project. Drilling and pipeline construction have since been halted.
US think-tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has said the project risks accelerating climate change and questions its viability, given spiralling costs and legal action.
Barossa’s offshore gas contains a very high level of carbon dioxide (CO2), at 18 per cent by volume – significantly higher than many other Australian gas fields. CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and it has to be extracted during processing to create LNG. Many gas fields vent the gas into the air.
Santos plans to capture the CO2 and store it in depleted wells via an 800km pipeline. But IEEFA said this would involve too much energy to compress the CO2 and transport it for storage, making this idea unviable.
Santos has been contacted for comment.
