Eastern Star Gas purchased the land for $25 million in 2010 when it conceived the plans for a 280 kilometre gas pipeline from Coolah to the Port of Newcastle and a storage export terminal on the island. 

The site was inherited by Santos in a takeover in 2011 and it immediately placed the project under review. 

However the sale – which has been lauded by environmentalists – is the first formal confirmation the project has been abandoned. 

“The plans by the dirty frackers to turn NSW into a coal seam gas field and to develop an export LNG industry here have completely and utterly evaporated,” NSW Greens energy and resources spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham said.  

“This industry has got no future in this state. We’ve seen AGL abandon their plans in Gloucester and now Santos is seeing the writing on the wall and looking to divest of this asset.” 

Lock the Gate Alliance NSW coordinator Georgina Woods speculated that the decision was linked to financial losses the company had suffered in Queensland.

“Converting coal seam gas to export LNG was a gamble, it had never been done before. They undertook it in Queensland on a massive scale and ran into all sorts of environment, social and technical problems,” she said. 

​The Kooragang site is being marketed by Colliers International in flexible parcels, ranging from approximately 6 to 24 hectares.

It is adjacent to the Orica plant and Incitec Pivot’s fertiliser storage and distribution facility.

 Allowable uses under its port zoning include agribusiness, bulk liquids storage or as a logistics facility. 

“It’s in close proximity to major port infrastructure and it’s freehold land as opposed to leasehold land, which makes it quite a unique offering,” listing agent Trent Robertson said. 

He said its value would be gauged via the expressions of interest process.