Fossil fuel interests revealed to have signed more than 500 sponsorship deals with Australian bodies

The oil and gas company Woodside Energy was the most frequent entrant on a list of 535 sponsorship agreements, having signed 56 deals, including with AFL team the Fremantle Dockers and the West Australian Nippers surf lifesaving program.

Santos, another oil and gas business, had 41 known sponsorships. BHP, which maintains coal interests but this year sold its petroleum assets to Woodside, had 44 and was linked to another seven through an associated entity, the BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance.

The list was compiled by author Penny Tangey and expanded by the climate group 350.org. Guardian Australia verified the entries on an earlier version of the list that recorded 350 sponsorships.

Belinda Noble, from ComsDeclare, a group of Australian public relations professionals campaigning for a fossil fuel ad ban, said the deals were about building influence.

Woodside and Santos were asked for their response. A spokesperson for BHP said the coal from its mines was used in steelmaking, in which there are fewer commercially viable alternatives, and not power generation. They said the company spent $106m in partnerships with more than 250 organisations in Australia during the last financial year.

The terms of sponsorship deals are rarely public and are often covered by non-disclosure agreements. Depending on the organisation and the type of partnership, some are thought to be worth a few thousand dollars. Others, including naming rights deals on major venues or events, can run into the millions.

Researchers working in partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation have previously estimated the value of fossil fuel sponsorships to Australian sport were between $14m and $18m a year.

In some centres, such as Mackay, fossil fuel money has supported several major institutions within the city. In Canberra, Woodside and Shell sponsored the annual press gallery ball this year. Ampol and Shell also serve as gold partners to the Walkley Foundation.

Kelly Albion, senior campaigner with 350.org, said organisations should consider their policies governing accepting sponsorships, but responsibility ultimately lay with governments and companies.

The survey found education institutions had 132 known sponsorship deals, community groups 124 and sports organisations 111.

According to the survey, the education organisations that partnered most frequently with fossil fuel companies included the Queensland Minerals Education Academy, a partnership between the Queensland government and Queensland Resources Council (20 agreements), Central Queensland University (10) and the Clontarf Foundation, which helps improve educational outcomes for Indigenous people (eight).

The head of the International Energy Agency has said the global goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C, included in landmark 2015 Paris agreement, meant no new oil and gas fields or coal power plants should open beyond 2021.