The dispute relates to about 60 crucial CSG tenements set to service about 20% of proved and probable gas reserves tied to the $24 billion APLNG project on Curtis Island.

A 2002 deed between the two companies set out that Tri-Star would reserve the right to revert to a 45% interest in the tenements, which it farmed out to Origin Energy, if certain financial hurdles were cleared.

These hurdles included revenue exceeding agreed costs and other contributions and Origin recovering full capital and operating costs plus an uplift factor.

Tri-Star believes these outcomes have been met.

"We have not taken this decision lightly," Tri-Star managing director James Butler said.

"We have been in discussion with APLNG for many years over these matters and have been unable to reach an agreement."

Tri-Star is also asking that APLNG pay it a vendor royalty and interest based on the definition of revenue, and that it receive the difference between what it has already paid and what it should have paid.

The tenements in question include CSG fields in the Fairview, Durham, Walloon, Condabri, Durham and Spring Gully project areas, where Tri-Star first discovered CSG and conducted early appraisal work during the 1990s.

"If reversion occurs, it may mean that some or all of the reserves subject to reversion are not available for APLNG to sell in the future," Origin said in a 2011 prospectus.

The APLNG leader said it is confident that the reversion conditions have not occurred.

Origin has a 37.5% interest in APLNG, alongside ConocoPhillips and Sinopec.

The joint venture said it would respond to the statement of claim relating to the court case in due course.