Trough Exploration, which has just $24 in share capital, applied last year for permission to undertake “surveys and investigations”.

The company’s target zone took in land to the west of the Warialda and Bingara townships in the Gwydir Shire Council area.

But under new legislation introduced into state parliament last week, all applications for petroleum titles will be “expunged”.

The move forms part of the NSW government’s gas plan, released last week, to provide a “historic framework” around the controversial industry.

Earlier in the year, Energy Minister Anthony Roberts forecast a crackdown on “cowboy” companies without the technical or financial capacity to safely conduct coal seam gas activities.

Gwydir mayor John Coulton said interest in the shire’s possible gas reserves from Trough Exploration and other companies was causing angst among some residents.

“As far as Trough goes, it’s probably a relief for everybody because they were a $24 company and that was a big concern, although I always figured they would just do preliminary work and then sell the company,” he said.

“But if anyone is going to explore and, ultimately, extract gas from our shire, I would prefer it to be a bigger, better, well-known company.”

Councillor Coulton said the council had no powers to decide whether the coal seam gas extraction ever became established in the shire.

However, he said the council was gathering as much information about the industry as it could, including sending a delegation to the established gasfields in Queensland, in order to be prepared.

A Petroleum Special Prospecting Authority (PSPA) application lodged by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council in 2012 over land west of Armidale will also be cancelled.

So, too, will a PSPA application submitted in June last year by Ison Energy for land taking in parts of the Pilliga, west of Narrabri.