Biogenic Natural Gas Natural Gas Resources
Natural Gas Resources
Drilling Program
The deeper lignite seams within EL 4416, IER's wholly-owned exploration licence, that may not be mined economically, are prospective for huge amounts biogenic natural gas ('BNG'). A 9-well drilling program during 2007 and 2008 demonstrated the presence of permeable, gas-bearing lignite. Gas was produced to the surface (and flared), in sub-economic quantities, during an initial short-term test.
Preliminary Gas Estimate
IER recently engaged a specialist company to conduct a thorough review of available reservoir and geological data of the Gippsland Basin lignite seams within EL 4416. Their preliminary analysis suggests that the Gas Initially In Place ('GIIP'), in the un-mineable lignite seams (defined as more than 200m below surface), could be in the range of 6 to 35 trillion cubic feet ('Tcf'). See the table below for more detail.
| Estimate | GIIP | Recovery | Recoverable Gas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 6 Tcf | 10% | 0.6 Tcf |
| Best | 16 Tcf | 25% | 4 Tcf |
| High | 35 Tcf | 70% | 25 Tcf |
Planned Exploration
IER is currently in the process of developing a multiple-well exploration program that will be undertaken along side resumed production testing of the original 9 wells. Based on this exploration program and the production testing, IER expects to be able to apply a natural gas contingent resource over a large portion of the deeper lignite seams within EL 4416.