An era for exploration of conventional onshore gas in NSW is about to begin – with the Sydney-based gas producer Metgasco yesterday reporting the discovery of at least 32m of multiple gas- bearing sands between 1km and 2km underground at its Kingfisher E1 well near northern NSW’s Casino town.

Noting that Metgasco’s recent conventional onshore gas discovery is historic in the sense that it is the first such discovery in NSW for a century, the company added that since gas was found at the base of its Kingfisher well, it was quite likely that there were further gas zones at greater depths than currently discovered.

As a result of the momentous discovery, the shares of Metgasco soared by 51 percent to reach 68, after touching a high of 76.

Commenting on the Kingfisher discovery, Metgasco’s managing director David Johnson said that the find would likely give a notable boost to the 82 billion cubic feet of the earlier-announced original gas in place potential, estimated at a 50 percent confidence level.

Saying that the gas discovery would herald northern NSW’s Clarence-Moreton Basin – the precise place of the discovery - as the latest conventional gas province, Johnson added that Metgasco can now work out an extension of its aspiration for the field further than the 30MW power plant planned for Casino.