Independent reserves certification for Bohena

Coal seam gas group, Eastern Star Gas has moved a step closer to gas production....

  Coal seam gas group, Eastern Star Gas has moved a step closer to gas production with the release of its first independently verified reserve statement for the Bohena project area in the Gunnedah basin of NSW.Netherland, Sewell & Associates have independently certified Proved and Probable (2P) gas reserves in the Bohena Project Area of 59 PJ. Significantly, the 2P reserves include 21 PJ of Proved (1P) reserves. The area covered by these reserves represents less than one percent of the area underlain by prospective coal measures in PEL 238. ESG’s Executive Director Operations, David Casey said: “This is the first step in an ongoing process of proving up sufficient gas reserves to underwrite gas supply commitments and to meet burgeoning demand for energy and electricity on the east coast of Australia.” In March this year, Eastern Star Gas, with joint venture partner Gastar, executed a MOU for the supply of potentially up to 500 PJ of gas to the NSW Government-owned electricity generator Macquarie Generation for use at the Bayswater Power Station. “The reserves as certified are consistent with expectations,” Mr Casey said. “ESG had publicly indicated an expectation that at least 50 PJ of 2P gas reserves would be certified by the end of September 2007.” “ESG’s ongoing target is to progressively increase the independently certified gas reserves within PEL 238 during the next two years to 600 PJ by the end of 2009, to be able to deliver into the potential Macquarie Generation contract,” he said. The Bohena Project Area covers 265sqkm of the total 9,100sqkm of PEL 238. Mr Casey said the present pilot production program at Bibblewindi, together with other activities such as corehole drilling and additional production pilots, is fundamental to the gas reserves certification process. “It is expected that increases in gas reserves will be achieved progressively as performance data become available from this work,” he said.