According to MiddleAsianNews, TMK Energy continues to demonstrate impressive success, setting a new record for gas production within the Pilot Well project. This project is part of the Gurvantes XXXV program aimed at extracting methane from coal seams in southern Mongolia.
On January 21 of this year, TMK recorded a new daily gas production record of 674 m³, equivalent to over 23,800 standard cubic feet per day.
A new monthly record was also set at the Pilot Well site — 18,370 m³ of gas, surpassing the December figure of 16,306 m³.
As a result, the average gas production for the month increased to 593 m³, which is 13% higher than the previous December record of 526 m³. The company's management noted that the water production level remained stable at an average of 497 barrels per day (b/d).
These records highlight a significant improvement in the extraction process. The LF-07 well, recently drilled and positioned high, demonstrated a production capacity of over 10,000 standard cubic feet per day, becoming the first well to reach this milestone. In January, LF-07 doubled its output, again reaching 10,000 standard cubic feet per day.
“Six consecutive months of increased gas production have strengthened our confidence in the project. In February, additional pressure tests will be conducted to gather data on reservoir pressure decline, which is a crucial aspect of the project's future success,” commented Dougal Ferguson, CEO of TMK Energy.
Ferguson added that minor interruptions in power supply from external sources at the end of the month temporarily reduced gas tariffs, highlighting the advantages the company will gain from generating its own electricity as a result of current gas production.
This month, management plans to conduct additional pressure tests to gather data on the rate of reservoir pressure decline, which is a critically important indicator for assessing the future success of the project.
The company believes it is successfully approaching the critical level of desorption pressure necessary for a significant increase in gas volumes. Reservoir modeling conducted last year indicated a clear path to achieving this ideal pressure.
Water production, which amounted to nearly 500 barrels per day, plays a vital role in reducing reservoir pressure and desorption. This process helps decrease pressure and allows gas to be released from coal seams. Recent studies have shown that the majority of the water comes from the coal seams rather than from adjacent aquifers, confirming the high permeability of these seams.
TMK has focused its efforts on reducing reservoir pressure below the critical desorption level, which was one of the reasons for drilling additional production wells last year.
Additional wells will provide the necessary capacity to quickly reach critical pressure, enabling the project to immediately increase gas production volumes. It is expected that after achieving the set goals, gas production volumes will significantly rise.
The LF-07 well was drilled last year using a more powerful TXD200 drilling rig, which was used for the first time in the country. The Canadian company Major Drilling, responsible for drilling all six previous wells in this project, utilized more advanced equipment to enhance the efficiency of the process.
Management expects that industrial gas production will soon commence at the Pilot Well field, located in a 60 km² area near Nariin-Sukhait. The conditions under which the company has access to 1,214 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas are the largest in the country. Currently, the project includes resources estimated at 5,300 BCF over a total area of 8,400 km².
Currently, there is light snowfall and sub-zero temperatures at the project site, but the team, consisting mainly of Mongolian citizens, is capable of effectively handling the challenging winter conditions.
Mongolia is aiming to transition to cleaner energy sources, moving away from outdated forms such as coal and shifting to methane. Methane is considered a cleaner fuel due to its half the carbon dioxide emissions compared to coal-fired power plants and cleaner combustion compared to other fossil sources.
With its strategically advantageous location near China and its gas pipelines, TMK has a unique opportunity to accelerate the production of cleaner energy for Mongolia and all of East Asia.
