thornbill e01: immediate gas production

Its like im reading a Holy post!

ASX / MEDIA RELEASE
27 October 2010
IMMEDIATE GAS PRODUCTION FROM THORNBILL E01
Metgasco (ASX:MEL) is pleased to advise that the drilling of Thornbill E01 has resulted in
immediate gas production to surface and no water production.
? Average gas flow rate over a 6 hour production test: 100 mcf/d
? No water production during the test
? No CO2 detected during the test
Thornbill E01 (PEL 426) is a vertical well drilled to 846 metres to explore and test the
Walloon Coal Measures (WCM) in the area of the Banyabba surface anticline approximately
50km south of Casino. The well was designed as a simple, low cost vertical test to evaluate
the potential gas productivity of the WCM in this area. A 6 hour production test was
conducted which resulted in stabilised gas flows and an average flow rate over the test
period of 100 mcf/d with no associated water production. No CO2 was detected using the
onsite equipment during the flow test.
This well provides further evidence of the presence of a ?dry? coal seam gas play in the
Clarence Moreton basin which flows little or no water at the time of drilling. Thornbill E01
follows up similar results achieved from the Orara E01 well drilled by Metgasco, which was
drilled 35 km to the southwest of Thornbill E01 in January 2009 and the Wyan E01 well
which was drilled by Metgasco in May 2009, 45 km to the northwest of Thornbill E01. The
Wyan E01 well produced gas on test at 175 mcf/d.
Such ?dry? coal seam gas plays are rare, with the best known example being the Horseshoe
Canyon Coals (HSC) in Alberta Canada. The HSC is Canada?s largest coal seam gas
development. Initial average production rates from HSC wells are 53 ? 92 mcf/d. The
majority of coal seam gas developments in North America and Australia have been from
coals containing water and gas, where the wells must be dewatered prior to gas production.
Horseshoe Canyon wells have proven to be highly profitable because production is
immediate and there are no associated water handling costs.
David Johnson, Metgasco?s Managing Director said ?We first saw gas production without
water production at the Orara E01 and Wyan E01 wells. This was a suprise as ?dry? coal
seam gas plays are rare. Since then, Metgasco?s exploration team has compared the
technical characteristics of the Clarence Moreton and the Horseshoe Canyon coals and
found that they have some similarities. The Thornbill E01 well was designed to test this
thesis and it is very exciting that the well has delivered immediate sustained gas production.?
Thornbill E01 will be followed up by the drilling of Thornbill E02 once ground conditions are
suitable to move the rig on site.