The latest quarterly report from energy economics group EnergyQuest said the efforts of many Cooper Basin players clamouring to capitalise on the east coast gas shortage would be endangered by the pipeline.

EnergyQuest CEO Graeme Bethune said government-backed investment in the pipeline project would "kill the increasing batch of private sector initiatives to increase east coast domestic supply, often in collaboration with gas buyers".

The NT government has already granted ‘major project status' to the pipeline - which has been forecast to cost anywhere between $900 million to $1.3 billion - and is seeking formal expressions of interest for developing it.

"These initiatives are a positive development as we still see an emerging gap between demand and supply along the east coast with negative end-user consequences," Dr Bethune said.

"They would be endangered if governments underwrite a pipeline from the NT. A privately funded initiative that increases east coast supply would be a useful addition but governments should be wary of direct support for such a project. Rather they should focus on speeding up approval processes and removing regulatory hurdles."

The likes of Santos, AGL, Origin Energy, Senex Energy, Strike Energy, Beach Energy, Cooper Energy, Lakes Oil, Armour Energy and Marathon Resource are already working on initiatives to boost gas volumes into the east coast domestic energy market.

"There are no doubt also other companies with proposals and not only would these proposals increase supply but they would also increase competition," Dr Bethune said.