An apparent gas strike by energy giant Shell deep underground in onshore Queensland has fuelled industry hopes of a potential major new source of energy that could ease the threat of shortages in the tight east coast market.

Flames from a well drilled by Shell in the Taroom Trough at the southern edge of the Bowen Basin have stoked speculation that the little-known region could emerge as a new supply source that lies much closer to pipeline infrastructure than the Northern Territory’s remote Beetaloo Basin.