Employees from Senex Energy checks its equipment in Australia in this file photo. Courtesy of POSCO International

POSCO International has opted to ramp up gas production by extending investments totaling 300 billion won ($218 million) into its Australian natural gas operations, the company said Tuesday.

Under the plan, the company will take part in the rights offer by its subsidiary Senex Energy. The investment is aimed at tripling natural gas production there by 2026. This will allow Senex to produce 1.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The invested capital will be used to drill further gas production wells and build gas processing facilities and transportation pipelines, according to the POSCO subsidiary.

Senex Energy is an energy company that produces and develops natural gas in the eastern region of Australia and has continued its rapid growth after becoming a subsidiary of POSCO International in April 2022.

The energy affiliate focuses not only on increasing production in existing gas fields, but on securing additional reserves by conducting exploration.

POSCO International expects Senex Energy to generate annual sales of more than 600 billion won annually by 2026, and help contribute a lot to the profit growth of its parent firm.

In 2021, POSCO International acquired a 50.1-percent stake in Senex Energy by partnering with Hancock Energy which obtained the rest of the stake.