The company unveiled a $59.7 million, share-based rights issue to help boost production and reserves in order to lock in more major customers before the proposed PNG-Queensland pipeline comes onstream.

QGC managing director Richard Cottee said “within 12 months”, QGC aimed to have confirmed reserves large enough to meet eastern Australia’s gas needs for many years from a very low cost base.

“QGC already has certified reserves of over 2.4 trillion cubic feet with 147PJ in 1P reserves and over 400PJ in 2P reserves,” he said.

“Currently major industrial electricity generation and domestic expansion opportunities are available if QGC accelerates the development of our highly successful gas fields,” he said.

“The move to speed up growth would allow QGC to grasp these opportunities and bring forward increased revenues and returns to shareholders.”

Other Queensland coal seam gas producers, including Santos, Origin and Arrow Energy, are also planning to fast-track development of their assets.

Cottee argued that the costs of building major pipelines were rising rapidly and he believed QGC could provide cheaper gas than PNG. He said QGC was developing its gas production facilities around the Surat Basin’s Undulla Nose geological structure, which he believed could prove to be a world-class gas resource.

He claimed that if the program was successful, QGC would have proved up a reserves base equivalent to the Cooper Basin’s remaining gas stocks very close to southeast Queensland markets.

QGC’s 1-for-4 equity raising will close on September 4.

QGC shares closed at 80c on Friday, up 3c, after coming out of a trading halt.

QGC is operator and 90% stakeholder in Berwyndale South. Sentient Gas Australia holds the remaining 10%.