The NT's economic growth is 'heavily influenced' by the Barossa gas project, but its future is increasingly uncertain

Santos's Barossa project is a $4.7 billion investment that will extract gas from under the Timor Sea, 300 kilometres north of Darwin. (Supplied: ConocoPhillips)

Northern Territory Treasurer Eva Lawler's recent budget projected the territory to return to surplus by 2026-27. 

But that surplus hinges on Santos' $4.7 billion Barossa gas field off the coast of the Tiwi Islands going ahead — the future of which the treasurer has previously called "concerning".