Resources Minister Madeleine King will seek to reduce “ambiguity” in the rules about consultation that oil and gas projects need to carry out, in a bid to avoid legal delays such as those plaguing Santos’ $5.8 billion Barossa development off the Northern Territory.

The minister kicked off the process on Friday, releasing a consultation paper that homed in on questions of how to ensure effective consultation with Indigenous communities on new offshore projects and how to identify who is a relevant person for that work.