Dart Declares Scottish Coal-Bed Methane Test a Success

Coal-bed methane specialist Dart Energy International reported Monday that a three-month production test of its Airth 12 well in Scotland has been successfully completed.

The well which was completed in March 2012 and brought online in June was operated continuously for three months on a controlled production test basis. Sustained flow rates in excess of 500,000 standard cubic feet of gas per day were achieved, with peak rates in excess of 800,000 cubic feet per day. Dart said the well was held back from its maximum potential to minimize gas flaring.

Declaring the production test as a success Dart is now curtailing gas production at Airth 12 in order to preserve the gas for ultimate commercial production, although it will flow some gas for on-site electricity generation.

Dart is now awaiting regulatory approval before it can carry out further field development at Airth. The firm already has a gas sales agreement in place with SSE, the UK's second-largest utility.

Dart CEO John McGoldrick commented in a statement:

"We have invested significant capital in this area and are proud to be the first company to generate electricity from CBM natural gas in Scotland. During our Airth 12 well production test we have achieved sustainable and continuous flow-rates, significantly higher than any other CBM well production in Europe."

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