Regal Resources’ jv partner, Enhanced Biogenic Methane (EBM), has progressed its plans for the trial of the patent pending biogenic methane enhancement (BME) technology at Regal’s Oak Park pilot plant. Biogenic methane accounts for over 20% of the total methane reserves on earth and, so far, EBM’s trials have resulted in a better than 200% improvement on PRB CSM production after 100 days.
Regal has a 50 / 50 joint venture with EBM on EL’s 4507 and 4510, located in Victoria, with EBM having the right to identify and develop areas within these tenements for the production of coal seam methane on areas that do not conflict with Regal’s UCTLTM and SCTL technologies. Baseline analysis of the coal and formation water has established the chemistry present with bacteriology results on the formation water is encouraging. DNA analysis of the organisms present in the coal continues with the results expected to assist EBM to refine the second and third phases of the trial.
DNA information enables the technology to target specific gas forming anaerobic organisms. EBM has engaged GHD to assist with its regulatory approval process. Following the completion of a detailed risk assessment and subsequent documentation EBM hopes to make a formal submission to the regulator in late June 2010.
Engineering design for the well head and down hole sections are near completion. Associated infrastructure should be completed in mid July 2010. A drilling contractor will be mobilised to the well at Oak Park and begin re-opening the bottom sections of the well before inserting a perforated liner. The liner is required to counter the swelling characteristics of the coal and ensure the technology has optimum contact surface area of the coal. EBM anticipates that, with relevant regulatory approval, the BME trial equipment will be commissioned in the first week of August 2010. The first phase of the trial will commence immediately thereafter.
The BME trial will cover three phases to examine specific aspects of the technology. Each phase is planned to run for a minimum of 45 days. Final data collection based on this time frame is planned for December 2010. The Western Research Institute Institute of Wyoming, US, who is at the forefront of this technology, will then analyse the data and report back to EBM.
Biogenic methane enhancement (BME) involves speeding up the natural biogenic process that produces coal seam gas. Major sources of biogenic methane or coal seam gas include the Surat Basin in Queensland and Powder River Basin in Wyoming, US. BME works by artificially stimulating the group of micro-organisms called methanogens that bio-chemically break down the coal structure and produce methane. BME technology works best on lignite (brown coal), low rank black coals and oil shale. This is because of their high volatiles and hydrogen content and associated inherent moisture. As there are currently few economic applications for these asset classes, the BME technology has the potential to add value through multiple applications across many locations.
If all the available hydrogen and volatiles are converted to methane the process would yield gas quantities several times that of traditional coal seam gas. Typical hydrogen content of low ranked coals and oil shales is 5% by weight – if all this hydrogen could be converted to methane, gas content of coal would be 10 times that of traditional coal seam gas. BME has been demonstrated to produce methane in both bench scale trials (lignite and black coal) and field tests (black coal).
One of the advantages of BME is that only a small amount of the coal is converted to methane – there is no alteration of the coal’s physical structure, unlike the surface subsidence that can occur with underground coal mining or underground coal gasification. Application of BME is expected to be via the same drilling techniques used in the coal seam gas industry or via re-entering wells that are no longer economic or that have not been successful in previous coal seam methane testing.