The bid was rejected by the board of QGC last week, which said the company’s shares had been consistently trading above the Santos offer price.

“Given the quality of QGC’s coal seam gas prospects and the top performance of its management, the board has every reason to believe that the value of QGC will continue to increase,” QG chairman Bob Bryan said.

He said since the Santos bid had been announced “not a single share has been traded at the offer price of $1.26”.

JWS managing partner Peter Slattery said his firm had been working on the bid for some months now, with a team drawn from across the firm’s offices.

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“Our team has been assisting Santos with all facets of the bid, addressing the corporate, finance and other components of the transaction,” he said.

“It’s a transaction that, if successful, will substantially enhance Santos’ coal seam and gas interests in Australia, so obviously from our client’s perspective, it’s a significant transaction.”

The JWS team includes lead partner John Keeves, partners Peter Rose, Jim Hunwick and Damian Reichel, special counsel Andrew Lind, and senior associates Tim Bowley and Man Loi.

Queensland Gas Company has certified gas fields totalling 2.4 trillion cubic feet at Berwyndale South and Argyle in south-east Queensland.

Santos is one of Australia’s largest gas producers, supplying gas to all mainland Australian states and territories.