Solid Energy to Refocus on Taranaki CSG Program

Solid Energy is refocusing its coal seam gas development work in Taranaki permit areas after successfully proving the technology in New Zealand conditions at its Huntly coal seam gas demonstration plant in the Waikato.

The latest independent appraisal of Solid Energy's coal seam gas acreage in New Zealand's Taranaki region indicates that the company now has 858,000 million cubic feet (mscf) of contingent resources or 900 petajoules (PJ), significantly higher than previous estimates of 190PJ.

The Taranaki region is the centrepiece of New Zealand's oil and gas production, with a number of downstream gas processing plants and associated petrochemical industries. The country's two main gas transmission pipelines run to the west and north of Solid Energy's coal seam gas tenement.

Solid Energy is applying to New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPM) for a five-year extension of its Taranaki permit to allow the project to move to an appraisal/discovery phase, while at the same time considering future options for our Huntly petroleum exploration permit (PEP).