Grant said the Nationals' loss of the seat of Ballina to the Greens in the March election, and its near-loss in Lismore, resulted in a policy he felt reflected the will of the people.

"I support the views of regional communities and it has been made very clear that the Northern Rivers community does not want CSG," he said.

In short, Grant wants to buy back all seven Northern Rivers mining licences owned by Metgasco, ERM Power and Dart Energy, but seemed happy for CSG to go ahead in the Pilliga forest.

Grants' announcement comes as the National Party holds its conference in the Hunter Valley, a coal mining region that has opposed CSG exploration since Sydney Gas Company first announced plans to explore the area a decade ago.

Metgasco, which recently won a court battle against the NSW government over its Rosella-1 conventional gas well, and is seeking an estimated $10 million in compensation, has already indicated it is not of a mind to accept the buyback offer.

If the existing buyback scheme were to be extended, Metgasco would be offered $212,000 per licence.

The company said it had spent more than $140 million [in 2015 dollars] over the past decade proving up NSW's largest certified resources, and it would not be going down without a fight.

Metgasco boss Peter Henderson maintained that locals around the Casino area supported CSG extraction for the jobs it would create.

Junior Comet Ridge, which has three licences in the northern Gunnedah Basin to the west, believes the Nationals' plan will not spread to the Gunnedah Basin, where his company is joint ventured with Santos, which has spent upwards of $1.5 billion on its Narrabri gas project.

CSG exploration in NSW has been in a state of limbo for more than three years.