The Santos announcement is just one step in a long and prosperous journey ahead for the Territory

THE Northern Territory is the big winner in Santos’ $5.6bn expansion of its offshore Barossa gas reserve off Darwin

THE Northern Territory is the big winner in Santos’ $5.6bn expansion of its offshore Barossa gas reserve off Darwin.

The company has now committed to extending the life off the Darwin LNG facility by a further 20 years, generating a much-needed 350 permanent jobs for the Top End capital.

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It was also highly encouraging to hear the words of Santos boss Kevin Gallagher, saying there would be no fly-in-fly-out workers for the gas plant in Darwin.

The huge FIFO workforce for the $50bn Inpex gas project created concern within the community that a lot of the money being earnt by workers in Darwin was not spent locally.

Thankfully, those same concerns won’t be an issue with this multi-billion dollar Santos investment, which is no doubt a game changer for Darwin and the Territory.

These are workers and their families who will be based in Darwin and spending their hard-earned cash in local businesses. It will be a major boost for the local economy.

The Santos development is also further proof of the enormous potential for gas development — both onshore and offshore — in the NT.

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A gas-led recovery was the major talking point of the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission’s report into what will lead the NT to economic success.

The Santos announcement is just one step in a long and prosperous journey ahead for the Territory.

It is now up to major companies, along with the federal and Territory governments, to build on this momentum and ensure the NT becomes the gas capital of Australia.