According to the recent decision made be the Federal Court of Australia, Australian oil and gas exploration and production company — Santos Ltd — can commence on an 86 kilometre section of pipeline for the Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP). However, no activity is to occur south of kilometre point 86 (KP86).

The court has set 4 December 2023 as the commencement date of the hearing of a case brought forth by a traditional land owner from the Tiwi Islands, Simon Munkara, as he seeks to halt all project works until the pipeline’s environmental plan has been revised and accepted by NOPSEMA.

Santos has released a statement voicing that the company is committed to delivering the Barossa Gas Project with the aim of producing gas in the first half of 2025.

Earlier this month, the court granted an interim injunction which prevented Santos from commencing work on laying the project’s undersea pipelines.

Australian Energy Producers have released a comment on this court decisions, stating that the “court decision is further evidence of the urgent need for the Australian Government to provide certainty for businesses and fix the broken offshore regulatory approvals system. Reliable and affordable energy for Australian households and businesses is at risk alongside the tens of billions of dollars of economic benefits and jobs our exports deliver for Australia”.