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Gas producer Central Petroleum says it was excluded from bidding for a major Northern Territory gas supply contract which was awarded to US-based company Tamboran Resources without tender.
The cost of that contract has not been shared with the public.
The NT government and Tamboran announced the nine-year deal on Tuesday, saying it would satisfy nearly two-thirds of the territory's gas demand from 2026.
Neither would say how much taxpayers would pay for the deal, and whether it was fixed price or subject to spikes in global gas prices.
The contract is to supply gas from the Beetaloo Basin, south of Darwin, a project that is still subject to environmental and financial approvals.
Central Petroleum chief executive Leon Devaney said its own attempts to strike a similar deal with the NT government had been brushed off.
Central Petroleum operates the Northern Territory's only onshore gas field in production, and Mr Devaney said it could have easily covered two-thirds of the NT's domestic gas market.
Mr Devaney was surprised by the NT government's deal with Tamboran, which he speculated to be worth more than $1 billion.
"From our perspective we were a bit curious as to why a more competitive or transparent process wasn't undertaken," he said.
"We had been trying to engage with the NT government on a long-term gas supply which would ensure our gas in the NT would stay in the NT.
"We were unable to get any substantiative engagement with the NT government."
Central Petroleum is now looking to ink supply deals with east coast companies, which would leave the NT government with fewer suppliers should the Beetaloo project fall through.
Tom Quinn, an analyst at energy think-tank Springmount Advisory, said the Tamboran deal risked a repeat of a similar 25-year deal the NT government struck with another gas field 12 years ago.
Blacktip, a gas field off the coast of the NT, has faced supply issues in the last few years.
"Here we are, halfway through that period, and suddenly we're out of gas again — are we really going to repeat this mistake again?" Mr Quinn said.
Experts concerned by reliance on 'commercial-in-confidence'
Mr Quinn is concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding the government's Tamboran deal, saying there should have been an open tender process and competitive bidding.
"I don't see any reason why the Northern Territory can't do what every other state and territory does," he said.
"It means the best value projects go into the mix, and they get chosen, and that goes directly through to lower energy bills for consumers."
The NT government and Tamboran have repeatedly cited commercial-in-confidence for not revealing how much the deal will cost the public purse.
University of Queensland privacy law expert John Swinson said there was no reason why the details of the deal could not be released without jeopardising the NT's relationship with industry.
"It gives the impression they're paying too much, not interested in competition, that it's jobs for the boys, rather than transparent, open government where the best price and the best service is the one that's selected," he said.
Professor Swinson said other countries such as Canada still attracted investment despite routinely publishing government contracts in full.
"In Australia if you ask for a similar contract, the government will say commercial-in-confidence, and not give it to you," he said.
NT government says 'this is the way negotiations happen'
Ultimately, the gas deal is subject to Tamboran reaching a final investment decision on whether to proceed with its plans in the Beetaloo Basin.
It also hinges on approval from the NT's Environment Protection Authority.
Both Mr Quinn and Mr Devaney questioned why the NT government had struck a deal before those hurdles were cleared.
"I have never seen a deal like this struck in my entire time in the past two decades in the energy space," Mr Quinn said.
"To be striking an offtake agreement with a project that is unproven, undeveloped and unapproved … it's gobsmacking."
NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said the government was working towards having a "portfolio of gas".
She said the government would continue to have discussions with other operators, including Central Petroleum.
When asked why a competitive tender process was not held, Ms Lawler said other gas companies "will have that opportunity" to make deals with the government.
"This is the way it was done with [Blacktip operator] Eni, this is the way negotiations happen around the supply of gas," she said.
"What we get with Tamboran is we get a whole new industry, a whole new player into that area of gas."