Traditional owners in the Northern Territory say they have launched international legal action to try to block one of the biggest projects announced in the Australian oil and gas sector for almost a decade.
Last year, Santos signed off on the $4.7 billion Barossa offshore development, which includes a pipeline from a gas field in the Timor Sea to an existing LNG facility on Darwin Harbour.
But some Tiwi Islander and Larrakia elders fear the project will have detrimental impacts on their sea country and marine life.
They say they do not support the pipeline, which is proposed to run through a habitat protection zone near the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin.
Lawyers acting on their behalf have filed for an injunction in a Seoul court to try to prevent South Korean export agencies providing almost $1 billion in loans for the Barossa project.
One of the plaintiffs in the case, Jikilaruwu Tiwi clan leader Daniel Munkara, said his people had not been given enough information about the development.
"By taking the South Korean government to court to stop this gas project, we are protecting our family and our land," Mr Munkara said in a statement released by an international alliance known as the Stop Barossa Gas Campaign.
Another Jikilaruwu Tiwi clan leader, Francisco Babui, said the proposed route of the pipeline was too close to the western tip of Bathurst Island.
"There is a reef there with lots of turtles and dugongs," Mr Babui said.
"The turtles lay their eggs on that beach and we go hunting in that area."
Kevin "Tibby" Quall, a Dangalaba Larrakia elder, said he was concerned about potential impacts in the Darwin region.
"The Barossa project is devastating for us and our future," Mr Quall said.
In a statement to the ABC, Santos said the Barossa project "has all the necessary approvals in place".
"As is the case for all of our projects, we undertake consultation with all key stakeholders where they receive detailed information about the project."
Project expected to create hundreds of jobs
US gas giant ConocoPhillips previously held the rights to the Barossa project before it was sold to Santos in 2020.
When Santos announced its final investment decision last year, it said it had partnered with private South Korean firm SK E&S in a joint venture.
The legal action in South Korea specifically targets two export credit agencies said to be funding loans for part of the project: the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE).
Santos is not part of the legal action.
"We hope that we win this case and that no one will want to give any more money to Santos," Mr Babui said.
In addition to the pipeline, the Barossa project includes a floating production vessel as well as subsea wells and other infrastructure.
Gas production is expected to begin in 2025.
Santos estimates the project will create 600 jobs during construction as well as 350 ongoing jobs in Darwin over the next two decades.
The Stop Barossa Gas Campaign is an alliance made up of the Environment Centre NT, Jubilee Australia Research Centre and a South Korean-based organisation called Solutions for Our Climate.
The Environment Centre NT said it was concerned the Barossa project will generate millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Santos has previously said it planned to investigate options for carbon-neutral LNG production through processes such as carbon capture and storage and carbon credits.
