LARAMIE, Wyo. & BRISBANE, Australia--()--WellDog announced today that it has completed its first coalbed methane gas tests in China. The tests, conducted in Far East Energy’s Shouyang field in the Shanxi Province, provided the company immediate data on the amount of natural gas in their coal seams.
“WellDog was able to highlight quickly new areas of high gas content,” said Bob Hockert, China Country Manager for Far East Energy. “Their results correlated well with our operational observations and expectations, and we are confident that their testing procedures are thorough and accurate. We believe that their widely accepted gas testing services will assist us in confirming our gas reserves to an international audience. We also believe that their data will assist us in optimizing our pioneering CBM production in the Shanxi province.”
In order to provide that data, WellDog mobilized equipment and staff from its Wyoming and Queensland facilities and managed the immigration and customs process with its local Chinese partners. Within two days of arriving in country, WellDog had commenced testing.
“WellDog acted professionally during their mobilization and operations in our Shouyang field in the Shanxi province,” said Hockert. “They arrived and within six days had safely and efficiently tested five of our wells for critical desorption pressure, gas content and gas saturation. They worked through some challenging operational conditions in order to achieve good tests. And we received their preliminary test results within 24 hours after the testing program was completed.”
“After observing WellDog’s test planning, data collection, and results analysis procedures in detail over a number of days,” said Hockert, “we are very comfortable that their gas testing services are technically rigorous and operationally relevant.”
China is increasingly looking to coalbed methane for natural gas resources that can reduce its dependence on coal-fired power plants for energy. In 2010, China was estimated to have 6 trillion cubic feet of proven coalbed methane reserves, although estimates for recoverable reserves are much higher, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. China produced 254 billion cubic feet of coalbed methane in 2009 and analysts expect that amount to rise to 1.72 trillion cubic feet per year by 2030.
“If this technology is accepted as a replacement to coring in China, FEEB would have no reservations incorporating the service in its exploration program,” said Hockert. “This service would provide a good substitution for a substantial portion of our planned coring work, thus saving time and money.”
In addition to locating gas in coal for production by coalbed methane companies, WellDog’s gas testing services is used to identify areas of high gas content in underground coal mines. This leads to improved mining safety through drainage of methane from these areas ahead of mining activities.
WellDog also identifies trace methane gas in shallow coals so that miners can devise suitable methane drainage strategies to reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere during surface mining.
“We believe we can simultaneously help increase natural gas production, increase underground mine safety, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in China,” said John M. Pope, president and CEO of WellDog.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Methane emissions from coal mines comprise about 1% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
WellDog’s gas testing equipment remains in China and further coal gas testing programs are under discussion with local coalbed methane producers and coal miners.
About Far East Energy
Based in Houston, Texas, with offices in Beijing, Kunming, and Taiyuan City, China, Far East Energy Corporation is focused on coalbed methane exploration and development in China. More information is available at www.fareastenergy.com.
About WellDog
WellDog (trade name of Gas Sensing Technology Corp.) is a privately held company that applies a diverse set of innovative technologies to address the numerous critical needs of unconventional oil and gas and alternative energy industries in a high volume, low cost manner. Its flagship gas testing technical service has identified more than half a billion dollars worth of natural gas in hundreds of coals around the world over the past ten years, while enabling resource producers to preserve more than a billion gallons of water. WellDog now provides five business services to the coal seam gas and coal mining industries including gas testing, permeability testing, permanent monitoring sales and installations, downhole water/gas separation and re-injection, and reservoir engineering services. The company has offices in Laramie, Wyoming, and Brisbane and Roma, Queensland. More information is available at www.welldog.com.
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