$200,000,000,000.00 in gas sales

That sure is a big number ... and what it represents is a fast approaching target of committed coal seam gas sales via Gladstone LNG ... essentially just out of the Surat and Bowen Basins.

Without a careful check, there is probably something like 40,000 PJ of gas reserves needed to service those sales ... they are there, but not proven by a long shot.

Imo, with the likely importance gas will play for the next 2 to 5 decades, $200,000,000,000.00 of export sales is but a teaser.

Gas is big business ... British Gas, Shell, Santos and Petronas ... plus there has to be others circling.

In this morning's Australian Article on UCG (thanks solarfeen) the stated UCG market in Australia is domestic supply, most likely translated as powergen. In the short term this is both sensible and true imo.

It took coal seam gas a good 10 yrs to get the legs it has today ... ignore emerging unconventional gas at your peril (as Don Voelte of Woodside has no doubt experienced).

I can envisage say up to 6 UCG powergen projects being commissioned in Australia over the next 3 to 10 yrs (2 ea in Qld and Vic and 1 ea in SA and WA) producing a total of perhaps 2000-2500 MW ... whilst advancing the more complicated UCG methanation, liquids and fertiliser projects.

Of these latter more complicated projects, methanation is my pick to propel UCG into big business ... imagine in 10-20 yrs UCG generated methane being pumped through Gladstone and perhaps other LNG terminals.

But for now, I'd be pretty damn happy to see Cougar powergen projects in Kingaroy, Gippsland and looking good in China/Mongolia.

Dex