Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ENERGY TECH
Study: Coal seam gas field leaking methane
by Staff Writers
Brisbane, Australia (UPI) Nov 15, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Australia's largest coal seam gas field has been leaking large amounts of methane, a new report says.

Researchers at Southern Cross University studied the Queensland's Tara gas field, which is owned by Britain's' BG Group.

The researchers said methane, carbon dioxide and other gases appear to be leaking through the soil and bubbling up through rivers, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"'The concentrations here are higher than any measured in gas fields anywhere else that I can think of, including in Russia,'' Damien Maher, a biochemist who helped conduct the tests, was quoted as saying by the Herald. ''The extent of these enriched concentrations is significant.''

Methane measured up to 6.89 parts per million in the gas field, compared with an average background level outside the gas field of about 2 parts per million, the researchers say. Carbon dioxide levels inside the gas field measured up to 541 parts per million, compared with 423 parts per million outside.

Australia is sourcing close to 20 percent of its domestic natural gas from coal seam gas and up to 90 percent in Queensland, says the government's energy white paper released last week.

But Australian farmers and environmentalists have been opposed to coal seam gas.

The white paper forecast a massive expansion of coal seam gas drilling and called for environmental objections to be removed to make large-scale gas extraction easier.

Australia's coal seam gas reserves are among the largest in the world, with a potential extractable amount of 39,905 petajoules, or the equivalent of 6.86 billion barrels of oil, says the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics.

Maher said there could be considerable carbon-tax repercussions for the coal seam gas sector if methane is found to be leaking in large quantities from soil in gas fields.

Under Australia's carbon tax plan, which went into effect in July, businesses that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases must pay $24 per ton.

Industry peak body the Australian Production Petroleum and Exploration Association, which represents the coal seam gas sector, said the Southern Cross University study is premature.

"We always welcome new research that looks at the industry from new angles and gives us new insight," association spokesman Rick Wilkinson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"But at this stage it's very early days, it's quite preliminary, and we're yet to see where this all leads. The first step is to figure out where is that methane coming from."

.


Related Links
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ENERGY TECH
China to cut fuel prices for first time in four months
Shanghai (AFP) Nov 15, 2012
China will cut state-set fuel prices for the first time since July, the government said Thursday, further easing inflationary pressure. The benchmark price for petrol will drop 3.5 percent to 8,530 yuan ($1,376) per tonne while diesel will fall 3.7 percent to 7,720 yuan ($1,245) per tonne from Friday, the National Development and Reform Commission said. The cut will see petrol prices at ... read more


ENERGY TECH
China's Chang'e-3 to land on moon next year

Moon crater yields impact clues

Study: Moon basin formed by giant impact

NASA's LADEE Spacecraft Gets Final Science Instrument Installed

ENERGY TECH
Rover's 'SAM' Lab Instrument Suite Tastes Soil

Survey At 'Matijevic Hill' Wrapping Up

Mars orbiter back online after system swap

What Arctic Rocks Say About Mars: An Interview with Hans Amundsen

ENERGY TECH
SciTechTalk: All work and no play?

Get some bed rest - all 21 days of it

Latest China military hardware displayed at airshow

Obama Win Keeps NASA's Space Plans on Course

ENERGY TECH
Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

China to launch manned spacecraft

Tiangong 1 Parked And Waiting As Shenzhou 10 Mission Prep Continues

ENERGY TECH
Russia restores space contact after cable rupture

Russia loses contact with satellites, space station

Cut in Russian link to space station not serious: NASA

Crew Prepares for Spacewalk After Progress Docks

ENERGY TECH
Arianespace's fourth Spaceport mission with Soyuz ready for fueling

Ariane 5's sixth launch of 2012

Ariane 5 is poised for Arianespace's launch with the EUTELSAT 21B and Star One C3 satellites

Ariane 5 orbits EUTELSAT 21B and Star One C3 satellites

ENERGY TECH
Lost in Space: Rogue Planet Spotted?

Lowell Astronomer, Collaborators Point The Way For Exoplanet Search

Lonely planet: Orphan world spotted in deep space

Discovery of a Giant Gap in the Disk of a Sun-like Star May Indicate Multiple Planets

ENERGY TECH
Raytheon submits Space Fence proposal to the USAF

Larger version of Kindle Fire tablet unleashed

Lockheed Martin Submits Space Fence Radar Proposal to USAF to Detect and Track Orbital Objects

Chinese LED firm plans record investment in Taiwan




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement