In its March 11 report on what Santos would look like after seven years of GLNG marriage, Credit Suisse was critical of the estimated 6-6.9% internal rate of return for the CSG-to-LNG $US18.5 billion project ($A19.8 billion) in Queensland.

“Santos now argues that its aim in GLNG was always as much about raising the domestic gas price, and therefore re-rating large parts of the portfolio outside of GLNG, as it was about the project,” Credit Suisse said.

“Even if this was the case, with the shortage of gas being seen at Queensland Curtis LNG, and Australia Pacific LNG busy feeding itself, we wonder if GLNG was needed to see net back pricing domestically.

“What is more, with about a 0.8% drag on Australian GDP from every $2 per gigajoule rise in the domestic gas price, this view certainly wouldn’t have been terribly popular with politicians who approved the project.”

Georgina Woods, the New South Wales campaign coordinator of the CSG-opposing Lock the Gate Alliance, said the report was a shocking indictment on the way the gas industry was operating outside the national interest and interests of domestic consumers.

“Today, IPART informed us that they are likely to recommend major and immediate price hikes on domestic gas consumers as a result of CSG exports linking Australia to the world market, even though the CSG export plants are not operational yet.

"The IPART report shows that domestic consumers will be footing increases in gas bills of up to $162 per annum for households and up to $625 for small businesses from July 2014.

“We are being asked to tighten our belts while our gas prices soar just so the gas giants can revalue their domestic assets to make their companies look better on paper.”

The grassroots organisation also called on the NSW government to introduce policy measures that “restrain retail gas prices and end price gouging”.

While a Santos spokeswoman said the company did not comment on analyst reports, she did have a response to Lock the Gate’s criticism.

“The main driver for rising gas prices in Australia is not the export market, but rather the rising costs associated with the development of those reserves,” she said.

“The only way to place downward pressure on rising prices in NSW is to develop the natural gas reserves trapped in the ground.”

Santos has also persistently maintained that its Narrabri CSG project is purely targeting the NSW domestic gas market.

The GLNG project is targeting 7.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG with first production in 2015. The GLNG joint venture consists of Santos (30%), Petronas (27.5%), Total (27.5%) and KOGAS (15%).