Tell us a little bit about what you do at Santos

Santos is built on a strong, low-cost base business supplying natural gas to meet our customer demand and we have a clear action plan to develop cleaner energy. My role spans both these areas as I oversee our plants and infrastructure across our Australasian operations, but also lead our decarbonisation and clean fuels businesses which allows me to have a strong focus on the future

A large part of my job includes working to decarbonise our traditional products so we can supply our customers with natural gas and oil which is carbon neutral. We work with our customers to provide emission reduction solutions, including carbon capture and storage services to safely and permanently store CO2 emissions, and drive other carbon solutions.

I’ve worked at Santos since 2013 and it’s really impressive to see how the business has changed and grown in that time. From a small company that started in the South Australian outback, we’re now a global company with operations in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and North America, headquartered right here in Adelaide.

With both Midstream and Clean Fuels portfolios you are overseeing many of the future Santos projects, what are the most important aspects to keep in mind when developing these projects?

The most important aspect of any project is to keep abreast of technology changes, but also to not be afraid of using tried and tested technologies for a different purpose.

One of the most exciting projects we’re currently working on is our Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the South Australian outback. The project will be one of the biggest CCS projects in the world and it’s currently 20 per cent complete. Importantly, we’re utilising technology that has been used in the industry for decades to safely and permanently store CO2 deep underground.

Additionally, we’re always looking at new technology to deliver new opportunities. We’ve got trials underway with CSIRO to store carbon extracted from the atmosphere, called Direct Air Capture and we’re also undertaking research and development on a post-combustion capture trial in the Cooper Basin. We continue to value our industry partnerships to develop new technologies, especially in the carbon reduction space.

As the perennial top company on the South Australian Business Index, Santos has a leadership role in South Australia, what does the company do to help other local businesses?

Santos has a long and proud history in South Australia spanning more than 65 years and in that time, we’ve worked in partnership with the local community, providing local jobs and business opportunities.

We work closely with businesses in the regions where we operate and like to use local suppliers as much as possible. Currently, we’re working with around 400 suppliers in South Australia and have several long-term partnerships with organisations and community groups.

What are some of the projects included in Clean Fuels?

Santos’ commitment to CCS is the first step in establishing the infrastructure to support the growth of hydrogen and ammonia markets – or the clean fuels markets – in Australia and Asia.

Santos will use CCS technology to accelerate the development of affordable hydrogen production from natural gas and support the evolution of hydrogen markets. As such, Santos is working towards developing its three hub CCS strategy across our operating footprint in Australia and Timor-Leste, to enable the generation of carbon credits, provision of carbon services, clean fuel production and potential for direct air capture.

We know a large scale-up of carbon capture and storage is required to meet the world’s climate objectives. It is a large-scale, low-cost and permanent way to progressively make these fuels cleaner and we’ll leverage our CCS hubs as a platform for those clean fuels, such as hydrogen.

What are some of the projects included in Carbon Capture and Storage?

CCS is the process whereby CO2 is captured from a facility, then dehydrated and compressed for transportation via pipeline to a storage site. The CO2 is then injected into a geological formation that provides safe and permanent storage deep underground. Santos plans to inject CO2 into depleted reservoirs that have previously held oil and gas safely in place for tens of millions of years.

Santos’ first CCS project at Moomba will be one of the biggest in the world and paves the way for a significant carbon reduction and storage story for Santos, and for Australia. The project is 20 per cent complete, with 100 million tonnes of CO2 capacity and contingent resources already booked.

The Moomba project forms part of our three-hub CCS strategy, with our Bayu-Undan CCS project in Northern Australia progressing and plans for a Western Australia CCS hub continuing.

Do you see this area as a major growth path for Santos or are they more something that just has to be done?

 At Santos, we are focused on supplying critical fuels more sustainably, to meet society’s demand. Decarbonising natural gas supports the long-term supply of reliable and affordable energy, as well as the production of clean fuels, including hydrogen and ammonia.  But also decarbonising the world, particularly the Heavy Industry section is perfectly matched with the CCS solutions Santos plans to deliver.  CCS is an exciting growth business opportunity.

We have strengthened our resolve for Santos to be a low-cost, high-performance business, and to become a global leader in the transition to cleaner energy and clean fuels that are both affordable and sustainable.

What do you do outside of work?

I am a father of two children, who unfortunately are not all that aware of what I do so when I’m not working, I am often driving them to their sports, standing in the rain and cheering them on with a big smile on my face.

I love to exercise, including riding bikes, climbing Mt Lofty, and surfing. Currently, I am also renovating my backyard.

Any advice for other executives on the SABI Top 100 on working globally from Adelaide?

A key issue for companies is sourcing the right staff from within South Australia. My advice is you need to connect to your larger network, and in particular, with Australians who are returning home from time overseas as they bring back a global perspective.

Additionally, look at the trades and university-qualified graduates. With the right training, they will become the most loyal and driven members of your organisation.

This year’s top 100 companies will be revealed at the South Australian Business Index lunch at the Adelaide Convention Centre on September 29. Final few tickets are available here.