Gas giant Santos has been ordered to pause construction of the pipeline for its $4.7 billion Barossa gas project after a regulator found some potential risks to Aboriginal cultural sites were not canvassed in an earlier environmental plan.
During a site visit "at short notice" in December, inspectors from the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) determined Santos needed to obtain further information about the potential impact of its gas pipeline on Tiwi Islands sea country, north of Darwin.