Santos pleaded guilty in the Karratha Magistrates Court over a spill off the Pilbara coastline which saw around 25,000 litres of oil released into the Indian Ocean.
It was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $9,700 in court costs.
This fine is an insult to all Australians struggling through a long-running cost-of-living crisis.
"The average Australian household paid more income tax last year than Santos had to pay for a massive oil spill, one which it allegedly covered up," said Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor at The Australia Institute.
"Meaningless fines for serious offences aren't the only way Santos gets a great deal operating in Australia. According to ATO Company Tax Transparency data, Santos LTD has paid no company income tax from 2015 to 2023, despite declaring $38 billion of income.
"The fine was less than the average Australian household paid for groceries in 2024, and around one-third of the average HECs debt for young people in their twenties.
"This is a serious oil spill. Dead dolphins were found within 200 metres of the slick 17 hours after the leak, according to WA government regulators. Allegations of a cover-up by Santos by an anonymous whistleblower were tabled in Federal Parliament.
"The message Santos gets from this is that there are no real consequences for harming our environment. But there are potentially devastating consequences for Australians, as oil spills can devastate fishing, tourism and local communities.
"It speaks volumes about corporate Australia that Santos is spending far more on aggressive legal tactics to deter scrutiny from organisations like the Environmental Defenders Office, which is trying to protect Australia from exactly these kinds of incidents, than they are required to pay in fines when they are caught out."
