Mmarrkk

Where is the North American Natural Gas Market Headed?

I believe your engineering on the coalbed methane (CBM) is off a bit. Yes, the rate increase initially as the coal de-waters and the pressure is reduced. However, CBM wells also experience hyperbolic decline like shale gas wells and eventually decline to a very small flow rate. Now, that flow rate will last for a long time, but it will be very very low. The plot shown in the EOG study includes CBM wells, a lot of them as CBM has been a major producing source for many years. BP, ConocoPhillips and Burlington (now part of COP) have been producing CBM in the San Juan basin for years. But the wells have high decline rates too. Get your reservoir engineering straight. Natural Gas is in tight supply and the land owners fight like hell to keep us from drilling for it. I've worked 3 projects involving CBM and only one of them has been economical. The others were fraught with delays and rapid cost increases due to land owner and greenie weenie fights against us.