VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Aug 22, 2013) – CBM Asia Development Corp. provides an operational update on its coalbed methane (CBM) properties in Indonesia and ExxonMobil Joint Venture. CBM Asia and ExxonMobil have agreed to extend the Umbrella Agreement signed on December 19, 2012. Both companies are engaged in amending certain terms of the agreement and the Company, with approval from ExxonMobil, will announce details in the near future.
“Our confidence in the commercial viability for CBM in Kalimantan is high and we look forward to success in the coming drilling season,” states Alan Charuk, President and CEO of CBM Asia Development Corp. “We expect to be able to release full details of the contract amendment in the near future.”
Sekayu PSC- On May 23, 2013 Medco Energi, the operator of Sekayu PSC, resumed production testing at the CBM-02 well, installing a new high-capacity submersible pump. The well is producing a steady 3,000 bbl/day of potable-quality formation water from the Miocene-age Palembang coal seams. Gas production was initiated almost immediately and is increasing as the well dewaters. Gas produced from the well is being consumed on site to drive the downhole pump.
Coring operations have been completed at the CBM-01 well. The Company is awaiting final gas content and coal analysis. 4 1/2″ casing has been run, cemented and perforated adjacent to the Palembang C coal seam at a depth of 1,380 – 1,404 feet.
“The rapid gas production to surface exhibited by the CBM-02 well confirms the high gas saturation previously measured on the Sekayu block and is consistent with results achieved by other CBM operators in the South Sumatra Basin”, noted CBM Asia’s Chairman Scott H. Stevens. “These well tests provide information needed to optimize the multi-well pilot design, which is expected to more effectively dewater the coal seams and achieve higher gas flow rates along with commercial production.”
Kutai West PSC. Newton Energy, the operator of the Kutai West PSC, plans to begin completion and stimulation operations on four coal seams in the KW-CBM-01 well in September, 2013. Dewatering at this location will follow pending the results of the stimulation program.
ABOUT CBM ASIA DEVELOPMENT CORP.
CBM Asia Development Corp. is a Canadian-based unconventional gas company with significant coalbed methane (“CBM”) exploration and development opportunities in Indonesia. The Company holds various participating interests in five production sharing contracts (each a “PSC”) for CBM in Indonesia. Indonesia has one of the largest CBM resources in the world with a potential 453 trillion cubic feet in-place, more than double the country’s natural gas reserves (Stevens and Hadiyanto, 2004). Since 2008 a total of 54 CBM PSCs have been granted by the Government of Indonesia, representing exploration commitments of well over US$100 million during the next 3 years.
In addition to CBM Asia, other companies active in CBM exploration in Indonesia include BP, Dart Energy, ENI, ExxonMobil, Medco, Santos, and TOTAL. BP, ENI, and the Indonesian government have confirmed that commercial CBM production started in March, 2011 from the Sanga-Sanga PSC and is being exported from the Bontang LNG facility. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “TCF”.www.cbmasia.ca