Metex retains designer for JV coal gasification plant

A joint venture company run by West Perth-based Metex Resources Ltd and the CSIRO, Carbon Energy Pty Ltd, has retained Thomas & Coffey Engineering to complete design work for its underground coal gasification demonstration plant.

The joint venture, Carbon Energy Pty Ltd, will build the plant on the coal resources at the Surat Basin in Queensland, with construction due to commence in September 2007.

The full text of a Metex announcement is pasted below

Metex Resources Ltd (ASX: MEE) is pleased to advise that the joint venture company CARBON ENERGY PTY LTD ("CEPL", a joint venture with CSIRO) has retained Thomas & Coffey Engineering to complete a detailed concept design for the proposed underground coal gasification ("UCG") Demonstration Plant to be built on the defined coal resource of over 45 million tonnes of high quality coal at "Bloodwood Creek" on EPC867 in the Surat Basin, as part of the feasibility study announced on 30 April 2007.

CEPL is currently completing detailed plans for the installation of a UCG demonstration plant designed to produce Syngas from the underground gasification of suitable coal reserves, at a sustainable rate, such that the resultant gas has the CO2 component sequested and the resultant clean gas utilized as a suitable power supply, and/or feedstock for liquid fuels and petrochemicals. This study is anticipated to be completed by the end of July 2007, with the Demonstration Plant to commence construction and trialing from September 2007.

Carbon Energy Pty Ltd (CEPL) is planning to demonstrate a 1 PJ (petajoule) per annum UCG syngas module at the Bloodwood Creek deposit. This uses a standard UCG module developed by CSIRO which gasifies coal over a module life of three years. Each module is anticipated to produce enough syngas to produce 50 million nomal metres cubedof hydrogen per year, or enough to produce 20MW of electricity in a state of the art combined cycle gas turbine power plant.

UCG promises to significantly reduce the cost of introducing new clean coal technologies by cutting costs of the coal gasification phase. Surface coal mining and coal gasification, which are both costly and have a significant environmental impact, can be replaced by UCG. This allows the development of clean coal technologies for low emission electricity, clean synfuel diesel, and chemicals.

Implementing multiples of the standard UCG module should allow gas production to be scaled up to specific project requirements. Attached is an artists impression of a UCG plant with gas treatment and on-site gas turbine power generation which has been designed to run on three CEPL UCG modules.

This plant is designed to remove the CO2 from the UCG syngas before combustion in the turbine, which if removed to storage underground, should reduce carbon emissions from this plant by 47% over a conventional coal power station. Other configurations would allow conversion of all syngas to hydrogen and CO2 before combustion to make power at emission levels comparable to renewable energy sources.

In another development, CEPL has secured an exclusive alliance with Coal Conversion Technologies (of the USA) and its Principal, Burl Davis, to assist in the detailed design and operation of UCG. This alliance will enable CEPL to draw on his experience in successfully completing trials at Rawlins and Hanna in the United States and and Huntley in New Zealand.

Utilization of the UCG concept for coal gasification would result in significant reductions in capital costs and operating costs in comparison to the emerging surface gasification projects that are currently being pursued.

A subsequent Metex announcement is pasted below

Diversified resources company Metex Resources Limited (ASX: MEE) today announced that its 'clean coal' joint venture with the CSIRO had taken an important step forward, with work commencing on the detailed design of its first proposed underground coal gasification (UCG) Demonstration Plant, to be constructed in Queensland's Surat Basin.

The joint venture company, Carbon Energy Pty Ltd - which was established last year to develop an innovative process for the gasification of underground coal deposits for power generation - commenced a Feasibility Study last month on construction of the Demonstration Plant. Construction of the plant and commencement of trials is anticipated to commence in September 2007.

Metex said today (Thursday) that Carbon Energy had retained Thomas and Coffee Engineering to complete a detailed concept design for the UCG Demonstration Plant, which will be built on a defined coal resource of over 45 million tonnes of high quality coal at Bloodwood Creek on EPC867, in the Surat Basin.

The Carbon Energy announcement comes as attention within Australia focuses increasingly on clean coal as an alternative energy source, following the news earlier this week that Rio Tinto and BP had formed a 'clean coal' joint venture based on the conversion of coal to hydrogen gas for power generation utilising surface gasification.

Metex's Managing Director, Mr Ian Walker, said Carbon Energy was currently completing detailed plans for the installation of a UCG Demonstration Plant designed to produce Syngas from the underground gasification of suitable coal reserves, at a sustainable rate. The CO2 component of the resulting gas will be sequested, with the resulting clean gas utilised as a suitable power supply/and or feedstock for liquid fuels and petrochemicals.

"Carbon Energy is planning to demonstrate a 1PJ per annum UCG syngas module at the Bloodwood Creek deposit," Mr Walker said.

"This uses a standard UCG module developed by the CSIRO which gasifies coal over a module life of three years."

"Each module would produce enough syngas to produce 50 million normal cubic metres of hydrogen per year, or enough to power a 20MW combined cycle power plant," Mr Walker added.

Underground coal gasification has been used in large-scale operations in countries of the former Soviet Union for over 40 years, and numerous exponential trials have been performed in former Soviet states, the USA, Western Europe and a number of other countries.

The technology is simple to construct and operate, and involves drilling of a range of horizontal bores and gasification layouts to gasify coal deposits in-situ to produce a syngas suitable for low-cost power generation. The resultant gases are harnessed at surface for conversion into suitable feedstock for power generation, or for conversion into ultra-clean liquid fuels and chemicals.

UCG promises to significantly reduce the cost of introducing new clean coal technologies, by cutting costs of the coal gasification phase. UCG replaces the coal mine and surface coal gasifier stages, which are both large capital items, reducing both costs and environmental impact.

This will impact on the clean coal technologies being developed for low emission electricity, clean synfuel diesel, and chemicals.

Mr Walker said that implementing multiples of the standard UCG module would enable gas production to be scaled up to specific commercial project requirements.