Island Gas closer to coal bed methane gas production
Government approval means Island Gas (IGas) is closer to generating electricity from its coal bed methane gas site in northwest England, with an audit of likely gas reserves expected within the next month.
Reductions in the price of wholesale gas and electricity will not affect the financial viability of the project, given that it had got under way before last year’s price spikes, the company’s CEO, Andrew Austin, told ICIS Heren. IGas and its partner Nexen are in the process of drilling at the Doe Green site, situated between Warrington and Widnes.
The first gas, expected “in the coming months”, will be used to run a power plant leased by the company on the same site, but gas should ultimately be passed into the local distribution network. Austin said Transco had acknowledged the gas to be of sufficient quality.
“The project would be viable without a subsidy,” said Austin. The company said it has estimated Gas Initially in Place in the UK of over 1.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (42.5 billion cubic metres) of the gas found in coal seams.
The International Energy Agency recently said that non-conventional gas resources, including coal bed methane, tight gas sands and gas shales could represent more than 900tcf of global reserves, with 25% in the US and Canada.
Other Related Stories
