uncleartsorry i meant no buying depth atm. However, drilling for...

uncleart
sorry i meant no buying depth atm.
However, drilling for gas in the Walloon coal does not go much below 1000m and much shallower in the Surat basin. say half that. The shallower the less pressure and then less gas. But this is compensated for somewhat by the better infrustructure available and lower drilling costs.
The more water in the coal the better and the more permeability/fractures in the coal (cleating) the better as once the coal is dewaterred the gas flows.

They know the coal is there and they know it is 'gassy'

The next stage (now) of exploration requires
core hole drilling with controlled and calibrated desorption of the coals to quantify gas content as part of
the reserve certification process.

The follwoing is from VPE qtly

"PL 171 replacing the previous ATP 465P covers an area of 161 square kilometres within the central
portion of the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland.
COAL SEAM GAS (CSG) PROJECT
The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) potential of PL 171 is a significant part of Vicpet’s CSG growth strategy.
Historically, Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC) has drilled in 2001, two coal seam gas (CSG)
wells and one core hole in the Walloon Coal Measures of the Cherwondah Anticline, with the drilling of
Trafalgar-1, Lawton-1 and the core hole Lawton-2.
Trafalgar-1 intersected 19.6 metres of coal within the four upper seams of the Walloon Coal Measures.
Testing of the well during drilling produced gas at a rate of 20,000 cubic feet per day (570 cubic metres
per day) and water production measured at 360 barrels per day. These results are typical of the initial
flows from wells drilled in the Powder River Basin in the USA.
After dewatering, these wells can produce significant gas flow rates. Trafalgar-1 demonstrated that the
coals of the Walloon Coal Measures are gas saturated and the 360 barrels of water production indicates
that the coals have good permeability. Gas saturation and good permeability are the essential criteria for
successful coal seam gas production.
Lawton-1 had similar results, in which a flow test of the interval 129-378 metres produced gas at rates up
to 19,400 cubic feet per day.
Coal seam gas exploration will resume in February 2008 with the drilling of two coal seam gas core
holes, Paradise Downs-1 and 2 to determine the coal seam gas content of the Juandah and Taroom coal
sections of the Walloon Coal Measures in the northern part of the lease. Wells nearby have produced
gas flows.
Past drilling results indicate the Walloon Coal Measures of PL 171 have the potential to contain an
inferred resource of up to 650 billion cubic feet of recoverable coal seam gas, if gas is present.
Interest in methane gas produced from coal deposits is increasing in Australia, particularly in the Bowen
Basin. PL 171 is adjacent to the Peat coal seam gas field, and pipeline which is now producing sales gas
into the pipeline linking it to Brisbane markets."

There are costs and issues in dewaterring but current producers do it OK. Once dewaterred the rate of gas flow will increase substantially from the above flows.

I think they will 'certify' a 2P reserve as quickly as they can. ( more drilling needed) Thats when its worth money.

Rpm is now the operator which I think is a good thing.

If they can prove up 500BCF thats big bickies to RPM

and dont forget Growler

Hope that is of some help.