Fair go YaqonaBlinkers are worn to limit periperal vision!There...

Fair go Yaqona

Blinkers are worn to limit periperal vision!

There is absolutley nothing wrong with Fairgopat thinking outside the square ... in fact it is kind of a relief from the current discussion topics on the ESG threads.

You know, Metgasco was initially a coal seam play and now has over 300PJ of P2 and they are well into planning for a pipeline and power station to use that gas. Then lo'n'behold, they found conventional gas and condensate at the termination depth of Riflebird. Kingfisher was drilled deeper and struck paydirt with conventioanl gas ... 10 mill scf/day isn't out of the question for a single well in the Kingfisher target. Imo, there is more than a reasonable chance that Metgasco will change their business plans to commercialise conventional gas ahead of any existing coal csg reserves. Left field, but these things happen.

During this past week, Cougar Energy announced they are assessing the methanation and LNG potential of their Wandoan UCG project in southern Qld ... UCG syngas can be produced for about half the cost of natural gas ... if the syngas can be cost effectively processed into methane, it means UCG could produce methane cheaper than ESG (and other CSG producers) can extract it. If their methane can be processed into LNG then look out. Left field, but complacency seldom pays dividends.

UCG operates in a tight range of coal and depth range paramteters and so not all coals and locations are suited. Without a doubt there would be suitable coals and locations for UCG within ESG's extensive permits, possibly in/around perimeter areas where the coal may be shallower.

For the same energy output, a UCG operation would cover typically 1/16th the area of the equivalent coal seam gas operation. So, even allowing for the "technical clash" that coal seam gas requires draining oceans of water from the seams and that UCG requires the seams to remain saturated and water charged, there is probably sufficient physical separation for coal seam drainage not to adversly affect a UCG operation. Left field, but wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about all that groundwater drainage?

Yaqona, let the threads decide.

Disclosure: I hold ESG, MEL and CXY.

Cheers
Dex