Retired Santos gas wells off Western Australia coast leaking for a decade, regulator says

A Santos spokesperson said the company had engaged the national science agency, the CSIRO, to ‘undertake an in-depth monitoring program’. Photograph: JALARU/The Guardian

Decommissioned gas wells from a Santos project off the coast of Western Australia have been leaking from the seabed for a decade, according to documents published by the national petroleum regulator.

The leaks, first reported by WA Today, are located at the Legendre gas field north of the Pilbara port of Dampier, and were detected by an underwater vehicle in 2013.