Australia’s coal seam gas producers have launched a campaign to counter negative perceptions of the industry by highlighting the investment, jobs, environmental benefits and enormous opportunities they say it is generating.

Dubbed as "apolitical" and produced by the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, the campaign will show how CSG is providing much needed opportunities for regional communities throughout NSW and Queensland, the trade group says.

CSG is a form of natural gas (methane) found in coal seams, rather than in the sandstone reservoirs that hold conventional natural gas. It is used to generate electricity and to power natural gas appliances such as heaters and stoves.

“Our strong community feedback is that people want CSG and they’re increasingly frustrated that until now, the loudest voices in Australia’s energy debate have largely been alarmist and their claims unsubstantiated," said Rick Wilkinson, APPEA’s Chief Operating Officer – Eastern Australia.

“This campaign marks the re-emergence of a fact-based energy security debate in Australia and gives voice to the many Australians who want new jobs, cleaner energy, and the revitalisation of regional communities that comes with the gas industry’s expansion,” Wilkinson said.

For an initial four to five weeks, the ‘We want CSG’ campaign will highlight how using more gas can help reduce global CO2 emissions; how regional communities are thriving thanks to the CSG industry; how gas production has a much smaller footprint than other energy sources, the industry says.

The campaign will also focus on how the CSG industry will help fund the new services and infrastructure needed throughout NSW and Queensland in the decades ahead.

The ‘We want CSG’ campaign is backed by some of Australia’s largest energy companies including AGL, Santos, and Origin Energy, and by major foreign investors such as BG Group, Arrow Energy, and ConocoPhillips.

APPEA is the peak national body representing Australia’s upstream oil and gas exploration and production industry.

“This campaign is built on facts and based on the voices of the many Australians, small businesses, and local communities who want the benefits associated with a thriving gas industry," Wilkinson said.

“It will also mean that the broader community will get the facts - not myths - about CSG, the industry’s operations, and the critical role gas can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to APPEA, the known reserves of CSG in Queensland and NSW are so large that liquefied natural gas export plants are now being developed.

Eastern Australia’s CSG resources are estimated to be more than 250 trillion cubic feet, enough to power a city of 1 million people for 5,000 years.

APPEA hhas more than 80 full member companies, all of which are oil and gas explorers and producers active in Australia. These companies account for an estimated 98 per cent of the nation’s petroleum production.