gas extraction cost, page-6

another view point......it would seem that the extraction is cheaper but the conversion into LNG is the expensive part... AND it has never been done before.

Coal seam gas

The hype around coal seam gas really centres on making it into liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Neither process is easy, or cheap. Coal seam gas is extracted by drilling a hole into a coal seam and capturing the gas as it escapes. Sometimes this requires extracting water from the seam to free the gas. It has been widely used in America. Eastern Australia is the other hotbed, though countries like India, China and Indonesia are also looking closely at developing it on a large scale. LNG shipments have been fetching record prices in recent months from fuel-hungry Asian nations. Converting coal seam gas to LNG, something that has not been done before, is the key.