I wish to respond to an article printed in The Land on Thursday 17 September that falsely claims that “CSG is too risky for insurers”.

Santos takes great care, uses the best available science and works within strict and stringent requirements to ensure we explore for and extract natural gas safely without harm to the environment.

Santos holds various insurance policies to cover its major risks and liabilities.

In the extremely unlikely event that there were to be contamination, Santos would be responsible for the remediation of that contamination and the rehabilitation of that land.

In addition, the NSW Government holds a bank guarantee from Santos’ bank to cover any remediation that Santos fails to rectify.

The bank guarantee amount is determined by the State to be sufficient to cover all and any remediation that could be required should Santos fail in its obligation.

Peter Mitchley, General Manager – Santos Energy NSW