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Solid Energy flares coal seam gas tests and looks at gasifying deep coal seams
25 March 2008 - Solid Energy is flaring gas to test flow rates from appraisal wells at its Huntly coal seam gas project.
The company also announced a project to investigate gasifying coal by controlled heating of coal in deep seams.
Don Elder, chief executive of Solid Energy, told the annual power conference in Auckland that it is developing some “very exciting opportunities” with coal gas.
“The first is a coal seam gas project in the Waikato, extracting methane trapped in coal seams deep underground,” Dr Elder said.
“Four appraisal wells have been sunk, and we are flaring gas right now to test flow rates.
“We expect to make a decision later this year about the commercial viability of the project.
“Potentially we’re sitting on a resource of up to 300 petajoules, as big as the Kupe gas field,” he said.
The coal seam gas appraisal wells sunk into the 400 metre deep Kupakupa and Renown sub-bituminous coal seams 10 km west of Huntly are being carried out in a joint venture with Colorado-based Resource Development Technology.
Dr Elder said Solid Energy is also developing underground coal gasification (UCG) which involves controlled gasification of confined pockets of very deep underground coal.
The ‘syngas’ that is produced is piped to the surface and can be converted into a wide variety of products such as electricity, fertiliser, liquid fuels, natural gas and hydrogen.
“Solid Energy is supported by a leading global technology provider, and has been working closely for three years with other international companies in this exciting new energy technology that has the potential to revolutionise the fuel sector, Dr Elder said.
“Because it is so deep underground and air supply is controlled and limited, the coal is gasified rather than burnt. To shut the process down once you’ve extracted all the gas, you simply stop injecting air.
Solid Energy has access to the latest UGC technology and is making plans for an initial pilot development. UCG projects have been successfully undertaken in the former Soviet Union, Australia and South Africa.
Dr Elder said Solid Energy plans project investment of more than $1.1 billion in new energy projects over the next 10 years — split about equally between its traditional coal mining and new energy.
