The 66 km2 Petroleum Lease (PL 201) encompasses the Berwyndale South gas field which is contracted to supply 60 PJ of gas to CS Energy from 2005. The granting of the Petroleum Lease comes just two days after QGC attained preliminary certification of 391 Petajoules (380 billion cubic feet) of gas at Berwyndale South.

QGC and project manager, Thiess, recently completed a detailed development plan, confirming the viability and profitability of the 60 PJ project.

“With the Petroleum Lease in place, reserves certified and the economics confirmed, most of the milestones to development have now been reached”, said Richard Cottee, QGC’s managing director.

QGC expects to receive a final reserves expert report for the gas supply contract in July, and is awaiting the granting of a pipeline licence for the 14km connection to the Roma to Brisbane pipeline.

Gas production at Berwyndale South now exceeds one million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), with the field’s nine pilot wells and one step-out well averaging an aggregate of 1.044 mmcfd over the past 7 days.

South-9 has averaged 242,300 cubic feet per day (cfd) after just 29 days of production. Berwyndale South-13, located 4.5km to the north west of the pilot is averaging 59,700 cfd after only 15 days of production.

“Our three years at the forefront of Surat Basin coal seam gas exploration is now paying-off” said Cottee, “ these new well designs have unlocked the technical barriers to the Walloon Coals.”