Santos, a coal seam gas (CSG) mining company in Australia, admitted committing environmental errors in its Pilliga East State Forest operations. In a report to the New South Wales government which contained a review of its drilling operation, Santos said there were many instances of pollution, including leaks and spills, that were reported.

There were 16 incidents of toxic waste spills made of produced CSG water, excessive clearing of bushlands and discharge of 10,000 litres of salt-laden water into creeks. Lock the Gate Alliance (LGA), an environmental group, described the Santos report as an environmental horror movie.

Santos blamed the Eastern Star Gas which it purchased in November 2011 for the environmental destruction. The CSG firm said that Eastern Star's reporting culture and operational practices are short of NSW standards. The firm said it is committed to repairing the damage of Eastern's wrong practices by holding a thorough audit of operations and undertaking a soil sample.

Santos also committed to spend $20 million on upgrades.

Besides polluting the area, Eastern cleared some lands without government approval. The NSW government said it is still probing the extent of the environmental damaged caused by Eastern which were discovered when green groups commissioned several tests on water quality in the nearby Bohena Creek.

More field inspections and samplings would be made by NSW's Environmental Protection Agency.

"The failures of this industry are now exposed for all to see and they can no longer be swept under the carpet," LGA President Drew Hutton was quoted by News.com.au.

The National Inland Council joined LGA is asking Santos to leave the area following the release of its report which admits to many environmental failures and destroys the credibility of the CSG industry.

However, NIC spokeswoman Carmel Flint doubted Santos would make improvements.

"We have seen nothing from Santos to suggest that they will be any better at managing such a damaging mining practice in a sensitive environment like the Pilliga," she told News.com.au.

Santos held 35 per cent stake of the venture until it bought Eastern.

"It wasn't until we were in a position to trawl through the internal company records that weren't available to the government or minority shareholders we found out true positions," The Australian quoted Santos Head of eastern Australia James Baulderstone.

Following the Santos report, the NSW Greens pushed for a moratorium on all CSG drilling in the state.

"Twenty incidents from around 35 pilot gas wells is a high ratio.... How many incidents will there be if Santos are allowed to drill their planned 1,100 coal seam gas wells in the Pilliga forest," Moree Champion quoted Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

The French firm Total, which holds a 27.5 per cent stake in Santos's $16-billion Gladstone liquefied natural gas project in Queensland, sought a better promotion of the benefits of CSG developments after the opposition to the industry became a main issue in the state's election campaign.

Yves-Louis Darricerrere, president of exploration and production at Total, said that Australia's oil and gas industry needs to better communicate to residents that CSG drilling in NSW and Queensland pose no risk to local communities or the environment.

He stressed that CSG exploration did not pollute the environment of suck up water supplies which are the charges that farmers and landowners are citing in opposing CSG development.

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