Independent Resources PLC
25 September 2006
Independent Resources plc
Key step for Italy's first coal bed methane project
Independent Resources plc, ('IRG' or 'the Company') the
AIM-quoted natural gas storage and exploration company, is pleased to announce
it has commenced drilling a stratigraphic borehole to obtain detailed geological
information on Italy's first coal bed methane project.
The well is expected to provide data for the appraisal of the methane resources
which are known to lie in the Fiume Bruna coal basin north of the town of
Grosseto in central Italy.
The planned project is based on producing gas from a six metre thick coal seam.
Past mining of the coal was limited to shallow depths, and was ultimately halted
due to the generation of abundant methane in the deeper shafts.
IRG Technical Director Roberto Bencini said: 'While the production of coal bed
methane is now well-established in North America and elsewhere, this will be the
first well associated with coal bed methane in Italy. It will be valuable for
planning our next steps in appraising the commercial potential of the Fiume
Bruna licence.'
Drilling is expected to take around two weeks, with results due over the
following months. The coal is expected at a depth of around 330 metres.
For further information contact:
Stephen Staley, Managing Director, Independent Resources plc: 01332 865 253
07771 838 753
Allan Piper, First City Financial Public Relations: 020 7436 7486
Background follows:
Coal bed methane is almost pure methane produced directly from coal seams.
Whilst many conventional oil and gas fields comprise trapped hydrocarbons
generated by coal deposits, producing gas directly from coal is a very different
technical and economic proposition.
IRG was provisionally awarded the Fiume Bruna exploration licence from the
Italian Government in June 2005. The licence covers an area of 267 square
kilometres and has very light work commitments.
The new well is an important step in the staged appraisal of the licence, which
only commits IRG to undertake subsequent phases once it is satisfied with the
results of the previous stage.
Drilling results from this well are expected to provide information on coal
permeability, the composition of water produced, and an accurate indication of
coal methane content at depth by gas desorption from coal cores.
Gas desorption from cores may take months, during which the released gas is
carefully monitored and measured.
As the well is classified as a stratigraphic borehole, drilling objectives
explicitly exclude testing the coal seam for actual gas flow rates.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange