A year on from a federal court decision that stopped one of Australia's biggest gas projects in its tracks, people from the Tiwi Islands and analysts say the future of the Barossa gas field is uncertain. 

Santos is paying more than $1 million every second day to keep a massive drilling rig floating unused off the coast of the Tiwi Islands since it lost a landmark legal battle a year ago with traditional owners, who said the company failed to consult them on the impacts.

The project still needs to lay a kilometres-long pipeline from the gas field to Darwin and complete an extensive underwater cultural heritage assessment of the pipeline's impact along the sea floor.

Fresh approvals are also complicated by opposition from people living on the Tiwi Islands and accusations Santos hasn't properly consulted Indigenous people in Minjilang, also known as Croker Island.

Despite these major setbacks and hurdles, Santos is sticking to its drilling and production timeline.

In August, Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher showed no signs of deviating from the plan — which would involve drilling for gas in the Timor Sea 300 kilometres north of Darwin.

He said drilling would begin at the end of the year, with full production in the first half of 2025.

However, a spokesperson for the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority said no drilling could occur until an environment plan (EP) has been accepted.

"An EP must demonstrate that an acceptable level of consultation has been undertaken, as required under the regulations," the spokesperson said.

Santos will also need to submit an EP for the proposed pipeline, but that can only happen once assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is complete.

Santos' October update lists the Barossa project as 66 per cent complete, and has started to offer employment opportunities for offshore work from Darwin.

Kevin Morrison, an energy finance analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), has flagged Santos' timeline is looking "increasingly unrealistic" by the day.

Mr Morrison questioned how and why the company is sticking to its targets in the face of mounting regulatory challenges and costly delays, saying investors deserve "full disclosure".

"Santos is obliged to disclose information to investors that would have a material impact on the value of its shares listed on the Australian Securities Exchange," he said.

The ABC reached out to Santos with extensive questions, but did not receive a full response.

Advocates say consultation was rushed and lacked information

Antonia Burke, a human rights advocate from the Tiwi Islands, said Santos' consultation – now wrapped up – was rushed, lacked information and minimised the risks.

Ms Burke said Santos executives travelled to the island a total of five times, and held consultation sessions lasting two to three hours without adequate interpreters.

"They just delivered all of the story in English, there was no interpreters, there was no education," she said.

Ms Burke said she considered consultation to be incomplete because traditional owners on the nearby Croker Island — considered relevant people to be consulted as their environment could be impacted — were also not adequately consulted. 

"[The Barossa] project is threatening our environment and our cultural way of life and everything that we are," she said.

"We've already asked investors to do their due diligence and to look at the [alleged] human rights breaches across the board, when they made the decision to invest in this company.

"It is the most riskiest project that they can invest in right now."

In April, First Nations groups lodged a human rights complaint against Australia's top 20 super funds over their investment in Santos' Barossa and Narrabri projects, asking them to divest in the projects. 

It came just weeks after Tiwi Islands traditional owners lodged a similar complaint against 12 banks over their involvement with the Barossa project.

A report released this week from Equity Generation Lawyers, which represents the Tiwi, Larrakia and Gomeroi First Nations groups, said none of the funds were withdrawing their stakes in the projects.

The report said nine of the 20 funds did not respond to the complaints at all.