Santos has agreed not to drill any new wells in the Barossa offshore gas field and to stop before it breaches the gas reservoir in its initial drilling, pending a Federal Court ruling.
Tiwi Island elder Dennis Tipakalippa from the Munupi clan has been fighting the offshore energy regulator's decision to allow Santos to drill eight wells in the gas field, 265 kilometres northwest of Darwin.
He has been represented by the Environmental Defenders Office in court hearings on Melville Island and in Darwin this week.
The case has been adjourned until September 16, when Justice Mordecai Bromberg is expected to deliver a decision or hear arguments relating to an injunction to restrain further drilling.
"Santos has agreed to an action today not to hit gas in the Barossa field while we await a final decision," EDO special counsel Alina Leikin said in a statement.
"They have also promised not to commence drilling any other wells at this stage.
"The court has heard compelling evidence this week about the cultural and spiritual significance of this Sea Country, and what is at stake for Mr Tipakalippa and the Munupi Clan if the drilling plans proceed."
The Munupi elder says he was not consulted over the company's environmental plan.
The regulator had material to show the Munupi people were relevant and interested parties who needed to be consulted on the project, Mr Tipakalippa's barrister Claire Harris QC told the court.
Santos argued that the traditional owners did not need to be consulted because they were not relevant stakeholders.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority also considered it unworkable for Santos to consult every person who could have an interest in the project, a lawyer representing the regulator told the court.
Santos' $US3.6 billion ($A5.2 billion) offshore natural gas development is expected to create up to 600 jobs and pipe gas 280km to the Darwin LNG facility, with first production expected in 2025.
The company says the project, which it purchased from ConocoPhillips in 2020, is 43 per cent complete and on schedule. The drilling that is the subject of the court case started in July.
