A major oil and gas company wants Australian taxpayer money spent on overseas energy projects, stoking fears that a Morrison government plan to boost development in the Pacific is a smokescreen for fossil fuel investment.

A government amendment to the operation of its export credit agency, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, quietly passed Parliament's lower house with support from Labor last month. It is now being considered by a Senate committee.

The changes would allow the corporation to make larger investments in overseas infrastructure, targeted to the Pacific region.

Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Mark Coulton said the proposal would enable the corporation to fund essential overseas infrastructure such as energy, telecommunications and water projects, where it is commercially viable.

He cited the potential construction of overseas LNG terminals to increase Australian energy exports.