Queensland's first domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant has opened outside Chinchilla on the state's southern inland.

The $200 million BOC plant will produce up to 50 tonnes of LNG per day to be used for manufacturing, mining and trucking purposes.

Its opening marked the start of a new industry for Queensland, BOC Managing Director Colin Isaac said, adding that LNG was an environmentally cleaner fuel than current alternatives.

“LNG produces up to 25 per cent fewer emissions than diesel when used for transport and is a proven, safe alternative to other fossil fuels,” she said.

The plant’s output will be the equivalent of 70,000 litres of conventional diesel per day.

The LNG will be liquefied in a refrigeration process, before the product is transported in specially designed vacuum tankers.

The president of the anti-CSG group Lock the Gate, Drew Hutton, was not opposed to the use of the LNG for domestic purposes.

“It’s just a pity that we have to destroy the whole Surat Basin … for an export industry that in the long run won’t suit Australia’s purposes at all,” he said..

“The concern I have about using gas for domestic purposes is that Australians are going to be paying three times as much for the gas as we should be, because it’s now going to be linked to the export price.”