Solid Energy is extending its coal seam gas investigations in the countryside
west of Huntly with the aim of setting up a commercially viable operation.
The state owned company, via Coal Bed Methane Ltd, has applied to the
Economic Development Ministry to extend its exploration permit by four years.
This move comes after a successful pilot scheme was completed in 2008.
At the time, Solid Energy estimated coal seam gas could eventually meet up to
10 per cent of New Zealand's gas demand. The gas is released under pressure,
sometimes involving use of the hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" method.
Drills bore down into coal that is impossible to mine, sometimes more than
1000 metres deep, before injecting "frack fluid" at high pressure to allow gas
to escape. A Solid Energy spokesperson said that unlike overseas, where the
B-TEX chemical compound could be used, the fluid used in New Zealand was a
mixture of sand, water and guar gum.
The Waikato Times
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