Gas giant Santos has lost its bid to restart drilling at a multimillion-dollar gas project off the Tiwi Islands.
The full Federal Court on Friday dismissed the company's appeal, upholding an earlier decision that the offshore gas regulator should not have approved drilling in the Barossa gas field, 265 kilometres northwest of Darwin.
Tiwi Islander and Munupi man Dennis Tipakalippa in June launched the legal action against Santos, claiming he was not consulted over the company's environmental plan.