This is from Thursdays Bussleton-Margaret River Times..."Gas...

This is from Thursdays Bussleton-Margaret River Times...

"Gas field strike imminent
WHICHER range gas explorer Amity Oil has its fingers crossed that the
viability of the gas field will be proved by tomorrow.
Project manager Bryce Martin said ``look for a glow in the southern sky'',
hoping that the company's air drilling methods will strike a big flow of gas to
be set alight by the drilling team.
Cement casing has been put around the drill hole and the team was yesterday
carrying out safety and integrity tests.
``We are at the critical stage,'' Mr Martin said.
Previously attempts to gain a commercially viable flow rate had failed
because water used in the drilling had expanded the clay and sandstone geology
nearly 4000 metres below ground level and blocking gas flow through the fine
sand.
The air drilling technique, widely used in North American gas fields, should
allow the gas to flow freely once it is struck about 20 metes below the present
drill depth.
Mr Martin said Amity Oil was hoping for a flow of about five to six million cubic feet a day, the point at which the resource becomes commercially viable. Previous test drills had yielded about one to two million cubic feet a day.
He said the flow would fuel a spectacular flame for a couple of days to prove the consistency of flow from the strike.
The gas field, 20 kilometres south of Busselton, has sparked talk of a development boom for the South West.
WA Development Minister Clive Brown visited the site last month and said it competitively price, the gas could power an aluminium smelter and expansion
of the Port of Bunbury and the Kemerton Industrial Estate north of Bunbury.
The flow-on effects for local employment also excited the Minister.
Amity Oil's managing director Howard McLaughlin said a gas supply from Whicher Range would be strategically advantageous for Perth and the South West by reducing dependence on the long single pipeline from the North West
shelf. "