The junior explorers of the Australian oil industry seem to be jumping on the nearest flights for countries with more oil-amenable geology, and you can almost hear the nation’s overseas-based conventional gas explorers laughing all the way to the bank as they receive spot gas prices several hundred percent higher than those being paid in Australia.

But while the broad fundamentals of geology and economics are drawing many oil and gas juniors to foreign shores, Australia’s burgeoning coalbed methane industry does not appear to be following the same path.

Promisingly for the industry, CBM juniors have met with on-ground and stock market success while operating both inside and outside of Australia.

A quick glance at the share prices of the ASX-listed methane chasers shows a stream of mostly northwards-tracking lines.

Of the domestically domiciled CBM players, Queensland Gas Company has, from a share price perspective at least, been leading its peers. Shares in QGC, seemingly glued around the 20c mark in 2004, have risen strongly and briefly hit 74c apiece in February. They closed at 39.5 cents yesterday.

The company now has in place extensive reserves, a power station proposal and a long-term electricity supply memorandum of understanding. It has signalled that it intends to become an integrated energy company, using its CBM gas to fuel its own power stations.

Victorian CBM player, Karoon Gas, has even better on the bourse. After plateauing around the 20c mark for the bulk of 2004, Karoon has had a bumper start to the New Year, its share price moving as high as $1.40. Karoon closed at $1.15 yesterday. But this growth was driven by its conventional natural gas acreage in the offshore Browse Basin, and while its Gippsland CBM blocks look promising they require more seismic to delineate optimal CBM targets.

In NSW, Sydney Gas has proved up extensive reserves on the south-western outskirts of Sydney, and commissioned its Rosalind Park gas plant last December. The facility is already piping sales gas to AGL and is sized to supply up to 10% of the current NSW gas market

Also in NSW, Eastern Star Gas showed what a shrewd CBM investment could do when it effectively doubled its share price in the space of a couple of weeks last year. Having spent the bulk of the year simmering around 20c, shares in the company hit as high as 45c as the Gunnedah Basin CBM project continued to develop. Eastern Star is also developing brown coal CBM fields on the outskirt of Melbourne.

CBM’s evolution into the energy source du jour for investors has also helped spur a series of CBM-focused floats.

The markets enthusiasm for CBM was best reflected in the successful listing of explorer and producer CH4 Gas, which raised a whopping $37.5 million last April. CH4 wasted signing a sales contract and is already piping gas to Townsville to power the recently commissioned Yabulu power station.

At the smaller end of CBM town, NSW explorer Metgasco and Queensland company Comet Ridge listed on the back of floats measuring $5.2 and $5 million respectively. First sales gas from Comet Ridge’s Tipton West project is expected early next year.

Comet Ridge’s partner in the Tipton West CBM project, Arrow Energy, also has a 50% stake with state-owned power company CS Energy in the Kogan North CBM project. First sales gas from this field is expected in September this year.

US-focused CBM player Planet Gas also attracted plenty of cash with which to fund its ASX debut, raising some $15 million.

While not as dramatic as QGC’s upward run, the share price performances of the crop of United States-focused CBM players have been strong enough to bring about at least a smile or two on their respective share registries.

Australia’s CBM Foreign Legion is a small bunch with one destination in mind: the United States. Those active on the CBM front overseas are also a diversified lot, with the bulk of them also involved in oil and conventional gas exploration and/or production.

From a share price perspective, Sun Resources and Samson Oil & Gas have enjoyed strong northwards runs in recent times, although the healthy performances have at least as much, if not more, to do with their success at their respective North American oil and conventional gas plays.

Sun has risen from less than 15c in October 2004 and closed at 22c yesterday, while Samson’s acquisition of US-based energy junior Kestrel has prompted a jump in share price from less than 15c six months ago to recent highs above 40c. Samson closed at 34 cents yesterday.

Sun and Samson, in conjunction with Victoria Petroleum, are currently involved in drilling a well at the Rock Springs CBM project in the Rocky Mountain state of Wyoming.

Sun and VicPet are earning interests of 40-45% each in the project, currently held by Samson.

Elsewhere in Wyoming’s Powder Basin, Planet Gas has booked in its first CBM production from the Oriva Throne project. Planet’s 2004 IPO attracted strong support, attracting some $15 million in funds. With some 2.2 million hectares of tenements to its name, Planet expects to drill more than a dozen stratigraphic holes at other prospects over the next twelve months.

Samson managing director Terry Barr, a self-described “tight gas specialist”, said the depth of technical CBM expertise that has developed in the US made it the ideal location for CBM exploration and production.

“Coalbed methane exploration and development had its origins in the US, and it has developed into a sophisticated field over there,” Barr said.

Outside of the US, the only other ASX-listed overseas CBM player of note is French hopeful Kimberley Oil. Kimberley is pursuing CBM plays at three locations in the east of France, and also has a prospect on the southern tip of Sardinia. The company also has exposure to homegrown CBM in the shape of its assets in the Perth Basin of Western Australia.

In the second half of this year, Kimberley plans to drill at Bleue Lorraine, while engineering studies will begin for coalmine methane production at both Gaz de Gardanne and Gaz de Saint Etienne.

Australia’s overseas CBM dalliances have not always been smooth. Molopo Australia’s hunt of Chinese CBM petered out without notable success, as did the Polish pursuits of Carpathian.