Growing fears among Queensland’s LNG producers that the federal government is preparing to compel them to divert gas into the undersupplied domestic market once Asian sales contracts expire are driving a fresh hunt for gas, according to experts.

ConocoPhillips’ recently approved drilling campaign in the Bass Strait and Shell’s closely watched exploration in the little-known Taroom Trough in onshore Queensland are both proof of rising concerns about a crackdown on LNG exports, they say.