Producer meets gas target

THE coal seam gas producer supplying Townsville says it has delivered on agreed 2005 gas volumes and confirmed the Moranbah Gas Project's status as the largest coal seam gas producing project in Australia.

CH4 Gas Limited announced yesterday the Central Queensland project it jointly owns with BHP Billiton had produced 12.9 petajoules (PJ) of gas during 2005.

About 12PJ was delivered to Queensland Government-owned Enertrade to supply the Transfield-owned 230-megawatt power station at Yabulu.

The balance was delivered to Ergon Energy's 12-megawatt Moranbah Power Station.

CH4 managing director Lou Rozman said production of almost 13PJ in its initial year of commercial operation combined with daily production rates in excess of 41 terajoules (TJ) per day by year end confirmed the project's status as Australia's largest coal seam gas producing project.

Gas volumes to be delivered in 2006 were planned to total 17PJ and about 20PJ were expected to be delivered and sold into the current contract in 2007.

The Moranbah Gas Project joint venture partners have a 15-year gas sales agreement with Enertrade to supply more than 300 PJ of gas over the life of the contract.

Mr Rozman said the rate of gas production from the Queensland coal seam gas industry at the end of December 2005 totalled more than 150TJ per day - a rate of about 55PJ per year or half of Queensland's current gas needs.

"Through 2005 we have made solid progress towards delivery of the additional gas volume required in Townsville for 2006, specifically to meet the needs of the local metal refining industry," Mr Rozman said.

CH4 was established to explore and develop coal seam gas in the Bowen Basin region which contains extensive black coal resources.

Coal seam gas is a source of natural gas.

The Moranbah project, Enertrade's Moranbah to Townsville gas pipeline and Transfield's Yabulu Power Station, formed the State Government's North Queensland Gas Project.

The project has played an integral role in delivering the Government's Cleaner Energy Strategy under which electricity retailers were required to source at least 13 per cent of all electricity sold from gas-fired generation by 2005.


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