The Pangaea Group was founded in 1996 to explore in Australia for Coal Seam Gas (CSG), also known as coal seam methane. At the time, the science of CSG was starting to evolve in the United States creating the potential for a new and plentiful source of energy. The leading developers of the new technology were exploring CSG opportunities within the vast coal reserves of the Powder River Basin in the mid-western United States.
Queensland also had substantial coal resources much of which was too deep in the earth to allow easy extraction. Pangaea saw the potential as a CSG resource and was one of the first Australian companies to develop a CSG exploration program.
Exploration commenced in Queensland in 1997 through a subsidiary Pangaea Oil & Gas Pty Limited with the successful application for the tenement ATP 620P, an area of about 450 square kilometres south of Chinchilla. Subsequently nearby exploration tenements were acquired including ATP 610P and ATP 648P. Under an exploration agreement Queensland Gas Company farmed into these permits and the ensuing Joint Venture resulted in the discovery of the Argyle gas field.
The Pangaea group remains a privately held company.